In May 1981, both American Airlines and United Airlines launched their frequent flyer programs only one week apart. The loyalty program roll-out gave Progressive a 2% increase in retention rate.Let’s take just a moment to look back at how we got here and then where we might be going. They report that a Progressive study found that a one-month increase in policy duration across its entire customer base would mean $100 million in incremental profit to the company.

How effective is Progressive’s loyalty program for car insurance? According to Direct Marketing News, pretty effective. Compare that to Tesco’s Clubcard (as addressed in a 2012 article in The Economist), where the UK company apparently uses information gleaned from retail purchases to determine the level of discount received by insurance applicants. Jewel decided that the boatloads of data generated by its loyalty card program just really wasn’t very usable. The 7th one: ditch the loyalty program (like Jewel did). Hubspot’s blog has an interesting post about 7 Customer Loyalty Programs that Actually Add Value. To be fair, this doesn’t seem like a real loyalty program, either.

Little did I know I was actually a citizen of the State Farm Nation! The SFN Facebook Page is all about “getting stuff done.” And members of State Farm Nation also get a variety of discounts shopping online with the State Farm Nation Rewards program. And our loyalty is mostly a matter of laziness. My husband and I have State Farm for our home, his business, multiple cars, even a motorcycle (not mine). This post on a website for insurance agents offers a snappy graphic and an explanation of the silver, gold and platinum levels. After 20 years, you qualify for “Lifetime Crown Benefits.” Clearly special, but also mysterious. Want to know more? Not a lot of transparency. The “hook” is that some discounts are available right away (small accident forgiveness), and others are earned through longevity (large accident forgiveness at five years). Progressive’s web site outlines the program, which includes a variety of discounts. All you have to do is be a customer and stay a customer. In fact, it doesn’t seem much like a loyalty program at all. But the program itself doesn’t seem all that ground-breaking. According to Forrester Research, Progressive Insurance established its loyalty program in 2008 because the company was unhappy with its customer retention rate. exercisers know about the insurance company’s loyalty program. Yes, Progressive’s popular Flo sings to help all of us 6 a.m. All of a sudden, my time on the elliptical in the morning is much more musical and I’ve got that darn “I’ll stand by you” song in my head all the way to the office.

Progressive loyalty levels