As more drivers head back out onto the road again, the insurer is increasing the cost of coverage again.
When the pandemic hit, sending drivers across Illinois home and leaving their cars in their driveways, Progressive auto insurance rates were lowered by about 10 percent. That said, drivers are heading back out again, and their premiums are also starting to rise.
The insurer is increasing its rates by 4.2 percent for the majority of its customers in Illinois.
The new Progressive auto insurance rates were filed with the Illinois Department of Insurance. The insurer’s rates are changing across its three business units in the state, which serve over 400,000 customers. Its Universal Insurance Company policyholders will see an average increase of 4.2 percent. The Northern Insurance Company customers will pay 1 percent more, according to the state filing. That said, the Progressive Direct Insurance Company policyholders will be paying 2 percent less.
The new rates will become effective as of November 6. It will affect drivers buying new coverage or renewing their policies on or after that date, said the state filings.
According to 2019 data, the insurer was Illinois’ third largest in private auto. Its market share was 7.91 percent, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. State Farm is the largest private auto insurer in the state, with a market share of 29.65 percent last year. Allstate is in second place with an 11.51 percent market share.
Most of the insurer’s Illinois customers will see the higher increases in Progressive auto insurance rates
The majority of the company’s policyholders in the state are covered under Progressive Universal Insurance Co. As a result, they will be affected by the highest rate increase in the company’s filing with the Illinois Department of Insurance, said Tim Zawacki, lead insurance analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, as quoted by the Chicago Tribune.
Even though the increases are coming, on average, drivers will still be paying “significantly lower” premiums for their coverage when compared to the start of the year, explained Zawacki. Moreover, it isn’t unlikely that other auto insurers in the state will make a similar move to the Progressive auto insurance rates increases.