"Our goal is to crack the top five in auto insurers within five to eight years," said Kusumi in an interview. He said he will expand his direct marketing with television ads, add more than 3,000 independent agents and cut rates.
Now ranked 21st in the auto insurance market by A.M. Best Co., GMAC’s ambitious plans will put further pressure on earnings at other carriers, industry analysts said. Kusumi's objective would increase company growth almost three times. It posted $5.6 billion in revenue last year, compared to Progressive Corp, the third-largest auto insurer in the United States, which reported $14.8 billion in 2006 revenue.