Progressive swings back to a profit

After ending March with a net loss of $152 million and a combined ratio of 106.2%, Progressive has reported net income of $196 million and a combined ratio of 97.9% for the month of April.

Earlier this month, Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith said that the company will reduce advertising spend in an attempt to achieve its 96% combined ratio yearly target. For the first four months of the year, the insurer is averaging a 98.8% combined ratio.

Progressive ended the month of April with 29.2 million policies, an increase of 2.8 million policies compared to April of last year.