Mayfield Village, Ohio-based auto insurer Progressive is continuing to lower prices in pursuit of growth in the market, an analyst noted yesterday after the company reported net income in July dropped 22 percent.
Net income dropped $30 million in July to $119 million on net premium written of $1.39 billion, a drop of 3 percent or $38 million compared with last year.
David Small, an analyst with Bear Stearns, wrote that this was the 14th month in a row that premiums declined in the company's agency business.
"We are still not convinced that Progressive will be able to jump start growth in the near term," Mr. Small said.
The company also reported its combined ratio increased 4.7 points in July to 91.3.
Total number of policies in-force increased 4 percent over last year, or 375,000, to 10.7 million.
For the first six months of the year, net income is down 22 percent, or $220 million, to $766 million. Net premium written was off 2 percent, or $188 million, to $8.6 billion.
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