Policy shift: Insurer moves ahead with consolidation

Auto insurance giant Progressive Corp. has accelerated its acquisition timeline for ARX, the holding company that owns American Strategic Insurance, a property insurance firm headquartered in St. Petersburg. In a March 4 call with investors, Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith reported Progressive was on track to buy out 100% of ARX stock next month, a year ahead of schedule. 

“Things are going so well with the integration of ASI that we decided to accelerate the process to April of this year, instead of April of 2021,” Progressive spokeswoman Mary Shaffer writes in an email to Coffee Talk. “We’ve acquired hundreds of millions of dollars of premiums as the result of the transition, and from a cultural perspective the transition has been virtually seamless. This is incredibly important to the transition and the connection between culture and business is vital.”

Joining forces with Progressive has been a boon for ASI, which now does business as Progressive Home. Griffith, in a letter to shareholders that accompanied the March 4 call, says the number of new property insurance policies written in 2019 rose by 16% over 2018, bringing the total number of policies in force to 2.2 million. The property insurance policies carry a total value of $1.6 billion, according to Griffith’s letter. 

“Since combining forces, both ASI and Progressive have seen tremendous growth,” Shaffer writes. “Progressive is excited for the growth to continue and believes Progressive Home couldn't have grown without the Progressive name and power and the goal of more bundled customers couldn't be achieved without ASI's homeowner expertise. Progressive Home doubled in size over the last three years. It grew from less than 600 employees to currently more than 1,200 people.”