Progressive Earns $55 Million In August

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio (AP) — Insurer Progressive Corp. said Thursday it was profitable in August as new premiums written increased and it avoided investment losses.

Progressive, which releases monthly earnings reports, recorded a profit of $55 million, or 8 cents per share, during the month. It lost $135.2 million, or 20 cents per share, in August 2008.

Last year's August loss was the result of a $317.5 million pretax loss on investments. Progressive recorded a $5.6 million gain on investments during the most recent month.

Net premiums written increased 4 percent in August to $1.15 billion, from $1.1 billion during the same month last year.

The insurer's combined ratio rose slightly to 95.5 percent from 94.3 percent during August 2008. Combined ratio measures how much an insurer spends paying out claims and expenses compared to how much it generates from writing new insurance policies. A ratio above 100 percent means it is paying out more in claims and expenses that it generates from new policies.

The first eight months of the year, Progressive has earned $652.5 million, or 97 cents per share, compared with a profit of $401.5 million, or 59 cents per share, during the same period last year.