National Interstate vs Progressive for trucking

How each one works

National Interstate Insurance Company was formed in 1989 with Great American as an investor, initially to serve passenger transportation, according to its company history. It is headquartered in Richfield, Ohio, says it is licensed in all 50 states and, with its subsidiary Vanliner Insurance Company, insures truck, bus, tow, crane, waste, energy and moving operations.

American Financial Group announced on November 10, 2016 that it had acquired the National Interstate shares its subsidiary Great American Insurance Company did not already own. National Interstate is now a member of Great American Insurance Group.

Progressive Commercial is the business insurance arm of Progressive. It says it has served small businesses for over 50 years and is the No. 1 truck insurer in America, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence 2025 national written premium data. Its truck policies are written by Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, and it sells by phone, online and through independent agents.

National Interstate and Progressive side by side

Here is what each company publishes about its trucking business; confirm eligibility before you apply.

Coverage and program differences

Both companies write the core trucking lines: auto liability, physical damage, motor truck cargo, trailer interchange and general liability. The differences are in what surrounds that core.

National Interstate’s truck page also lists workers’ compensation, excess liability, garage liability and property, so a fleet can place its auto, comp and excess layers with one carrier. Owner-operator coverages such as non-trucking liability, occupational accident and contingent liability are not offered directly; National Interstate points owner-operators to Great American Insurance Group’s trucking division instead.

Progressive’s truck page leans toward single-truck and small-fleet needs: non-trucking liability for leased drivers, rental reimbursement with downtime, heavy truck roadside assistance and Cargo Plus, which Progressive says adds protection for water, corrosion and rust. Its site notes that its workers’ compensation and other business policies are underwritten by affiliated and unaffiliated insurers, so comp bought through Progressive may come from another company.

National Interstate also lets fleets choose how much risk to keep. Its truck page lists these structures, each sold through its producers:

• First dollar (guaranteed cost): the insurer takes all of the risk.
• Deductible programs: lower upfront premium in exchange for a share of each loss.
• Convoy, launched in 2019: a deductible and captive hybrid for fleets averaging 25 to 75 units, with a $25,000 basket deductible.
• Venture group captive, launched in 2003: fleets averaging 30 to 100 units, with a $50,000 retention.
• Voyager group captive, launched in 2001: fleets averaging 100 to 300 units, with a $100,000 retention.
• National Accounts: fleets of 250 or more units, with retentions as low as $50,000.

Prices, discounts and telematics

Progressive publishes average costs: in 2025 its national average monthly premium for commercial for-hire truck insurance ranged from $734 for specialty truckers to $926 for other transportation truckers. Those are new-policy premiums per power unit for liability and physical damage on policies with no driver violations, so your quote can differ widely. National Interstate does not publish average prices, and its cost depends heavily on the program structure you choose.

Progressive says new truck customers who joined its Smart Haul ELD program between February and August 2025 saved an average of $1,261, a figure that excludes mandatory participants. Customers without an ELD save an average of 6% with Snapshot ProView, according to Progressive, and in both programs driving data can raise or lower the premium at renewal.

National Interstate does not publish a telematics discount; it says it combines customers’ telematics data with its loss control and underwriting expertise to make recommendations that could lower overall insurance costs. On payments, National Interstate offers interest-free installment plans, and Progressive says truck customers can avoid interest on monthly installments because it does not rely on outside premium financing.

Who each tends to fit

The deciding facts are your fleet size, your operating radius and how much risk you are willing to retain. Based on what each company publishes:

• New authorities and single-truck owner-operators fall outside National Interstate’s stated 5-unit minimum for trucks; Progressive writes them directly.
• Leased owner-operators who need non-trucking liability can get it from Progressive or from Great American’s trucking division.
• Established for-hire fleets of 5 to 40 trucks running local or regional freight fall within both companies’ published appetites, and National Interstate adds workers’ comp and excess on the same account.
• Fleets of 20 or more units with strong safety records that want a share of potential financial returns can look at National Interstate’s group captives.
• Fleets above 40 vehicles are routed by Progressive to its Fleet and Specialty Programs, while National Interstate offers captives and national account structures.
• Long-haul carriers should confirm appetite with National Interstate, whose truck program is described as local to intermediate.

Buying, safety services and claims

National Interstate sells through producers, using appointed agents or open brokers depending on the product. Its loss control representatives make on-site safety visits and analyze losses, and its customer portal includes a loss control dashboard with the SAFR defensive driving program, safety guides and training videos. Claims can be reported 24 hours a day, and customers and agents can follow claim updates in its NAV I.Q. portal.

Progressive says you can get a truck quote online in as little as 7 minutes or by phone, and that state and federal filings are usually completed within 48 hours of your request. It offers 24/7 truck claims handling with in-house adjusters and more than 100 network heavy truck repair shops, though it lists 13 jurisdictions without one, including Alaska, Hawaii and Kentucky.

National Interstate’s truck page does not describe filing turnaround, so if you need a BMC-91X on file by a set date, ask your agent.

Why comparing several quotes matters

The two companies’ published appetites overlap only partly. A three-truck carrier falls below National Interstate’s truck minimum, while a 40-truck fleet may be choosing between a guaranteed-cost policy and a captive with a $50,000 retention, where the real comparison is total cost of risk over several years rather than first-year premium.

Appetite also differs by commodity, radius, loss history and inspection record, and many other truck insurers sit between these two. A broker such as Florin can compare quotes from several insurers so you can see the coverage terms and retentions side by side before you choose.