Online Auto Insurance News

Car insurance provider Progressive is widely publicizing the fact that it plans to hire more than 1,100 people in five states over the coming months. The direct-to-consumer coverage provider says it’s looking for candidates that have experience with customer service.

New hires will be helping customers from the company’s offices in the following cities:

• Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Phoenix, Ariz.
• Tampa, Fla.
• Austin, Texas

According to news releases from the company, 129 people will be hired in Colorado Springs, 337 in Cleveland, 65 in Phoenix, 390 in Tampa, and 185 will be hired in Austin to assist customers with buying policies and getting insurance quotes in Texas.

Progressive has prided itself on becoming one of the largest direct-to-consumer car insurance companies in the nation. That means a large portion of its customer base buys policies through the Web and over the phone directly from the insurer, instead of going through agents.

The portion of Progressive’s policies that are sold directly to policyholders is just under 50 percent.

In 2010, Progressive was the fourth-largest private passenger auto insurer and the ninth-largest property-casualty insurer in terms of market share.

The company wrote a total of nearly $14.7 billion in insurance premiums in 2010, leaving it with a 3 percent market share.

Progressive has been struggling in recent months due to a high volume of unexpected catastrophic weather events. The company recently announced that its fourth-quarter profits dropped 14 percent between 2010 and 2011.

But, all together, Progressive’s yearly profits dropped just 5 percent between 2010 and 2011.