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.”