Allstate loses long-held second place in home state Illinois auto insurance market

Illinois auto insurance - image of Chicago, Illinois

The insurer has long held the number two position in the state, but Progressive’s growth was faster.

Progressive has, for the first time, taken Allstate’s position in its Illinois auto insurance home state market.

Based on a key measure, Allstate has lost the position it has been holding for decades.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio Progressive now provides Illinois auto insurance for a larger number of vehicles than Allstate, which is based in Northbrook. This tally uses the figures filed with the state Department of Insurance.

Possibly more importantly, Progressive’s rapid growth rate doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Recently, it slashed its rates in the state by an average of 3 percent, according to a filing with state regulators. This move was made after it had raised its rates slightly last fall, following a nearly 10 percent reduction in rates during the early summer of 2020 in response to the pandemic.

The latest Progressive Illinois auto insurance rate reduction went into effect on February 19.

That reduction was applied to the premiums of existing policyholders, and primarily returns the rates to the same reduction level that was made last summer before they were raised in the fall. That reduction was made in response to the substantial drop in traffic due to the pandemic, which meant that insurance companies weren’t spending nearly as much to cover claims relating to crashes.

Filing figures as of late January 2021 showed that Progressive’s three insurance units in the state covered a combined total of over 407,000 vehicles. This represented a jump of 8 percent in a span of only seven months, from 376,000.

On the other hand, Allstate Illinois auto insurance rates are starting to fall as it works to boost its market share across the country. This is the first time in years that the company has used this type of strategy. By early January, the state Department of Insurance recorded that the insurer covered over 397,000 policies. The insurer’s Illinois auto insurance - image of Chicago, Illinoisrecent rate reductions are an average of about 5 percent. This shows that while Allstate has held the second spot in the state for decades, Progressive has now taken over that position. The leader in the state remains State Farm, based in Bloomington.

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