|
I worked for Progressive as an adjuster for 6 years, so I'll give you some of my insight into pricing. Keep in mind, I was an adjuster- not an actuary so I'm just letting you know what to look for.
Progressive has several major and several minor factors that went into a rate. The biggest factors were: Age, Credit Rating, Zip Code, and type of Car then a "use type" factor is applied. That is not in any particular order, but I do know the Zip Code was a HUGE factor. Two adjacent zip codes could have as much as 30% difference. You had garaging issues to watch for where people would put down a Connecticut address but they actually lived in NYC.
They have conducted several studies that show the link between risky credit behavior and risky driving habits. The evidence on that is pretty compelling even if your personal driving record is pretty good.
This is an insurance 'soft-market' right now because there is so much competition and there haven't been too many major disasters so the reserves are piling up. It's a good time to price it out. Packaging is pretty heavily leveraged right now too- so if you do combine your home and your car it can be substantial.
As far as men's vs women's rates- that's just the way the Vegas Odds play out on your chances of costing all the other rate payers money. Insurance companies usually aim for a profit of 4cents on every dollar they collect as well. It was made clear that you weren't really spending Progressive's money- you were spreading risk among all the insureds. I'm not defending Progressive, but I'll tell you from the inside they didn't seem all that evil. I work for the State now though, so hate on them all you want.
As far as the Corvette goes, Progressive called them luxury if they met certain criteria (technically, I think they called them 'pleasure vehicles'). You had to have another vehicle available for each driver in your home and you had to drive them less than 8000 miles per year. Even Ferrari's weren't all that expensive to insure as long as you met the other criteria. Progressive's theory was that weekend warriors weren't that likely to get in a wreck. You can actually call several vehicles pleasure vehicles and a Camaro MAY qualify.
I drive a Gov't Car so I can qualify for pleasure vehicle rates for my Megacab Ram- I told them it was mainly to haul my trailer (which is true).
|