Progressive Insurance: An American Success Story Thanks to Peter B. Lewis

Peter B. Lewis took over his father's insurance company, Progressive Insurance, in the 1960s. At the time, it ranked no. 48 among the biggest insurers in America.

During the succeeding years, Lewis put the company in a leadership position, on the same level as insurance giants Allstate and State Farm.

Peter B. Lewis - Making Risks Pay

In 1955, Lewis finished his studies at Princeton University. He spent the next three years at Camp Roosevelt for Boys, where he was a camper and then counselor.

He came back from camp and in 1965, started as CEO at Progressive Insurance. When Lewis joined the company, he had only 100 people working for him and profits were at $6 million. By 1997, the company workforce had ballooned to 14,000. Revenues hit $4.8 billion. This made the company rank amongst the biggest insurers in the US, shooting up to fifth place.

He did this by targeting what was then an uninsurable segment, high-risk drivers. Lewis paid for the technology that could calculate the exact risk of this segment and was able to amass profits from high premiums. He eventually expanded his product portfolio to include a comprehensive insurance line.

Lewis' net worth is estimated to be well over a billion dollars. As such, he is an avid art patron (as can be gleaned from the pieces that dot the company headquarters) and has been known to make very generous contributions to charities and political causes he believes in.

He has served on the Princeton board as well as once being board director of the Guggenheim Museum.

Along less traditional causes, he advocates the sale and use of marijuana. He is a financial backer of the movement to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Lewis has admitted to using marijuana based on his doctor's advice after his leg was partially amputated, although he is known to have used it before that time. He was recently arrested for its use, pleaded guilty, and paid all fines.

The Peter B. Lewis Quick Bio

Full name: Peter B. Lewis

Birth date: 1933

Birth place: Ohio

Company: The Progressive Corporation

Industry: Finance

Key success traits:  Daredevil attitude, innovative thinker; dramatic leader with an unorthodox business style.

Additional:
Its leader's unorthodox style translates to the company headquarters, which features a travel agency, health club, and contemporary art at every turn. Lewis says Progressive's kind of corporate environment is conducive to, well, progressive thinking; and creativity makes for good profit.