Progressive Insurance Data Analyst Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Progressive Insurance is a leading insurance company renowned for its customer-centric approach and innovative solutions. It offers diverse roles within the insurance sector and aims to provide comprehensive protection for clients.

The data analyst role involves rigorous data analysis, market research, and scenario planning to support business development and ensure operational efficiency. You will collaborate with different teams to establish key performance indicators, perform market assessments, and create comprehensive reports.

This guide will help you navigate the interview process, understand commonly asked Progressive Insurance data analyst interview questions, and provide valuable tips to prepare. Let’s get started!

The interview process usually depends on the role and seniority. However, you can expect the following on a Progressive Insurance data analyst interview:

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your application is shortlisted, a recruiter from Progressive Insurance will contact you for an initial phone interview. This call, lasting about 30 minutes, will focus on your experience, skill set, and motivation for joining Progressive.

Behavioral and Technical Test

The next step involves a behavioral and technical test. The behavioral component assesses your soft skills and ability to fit into the company’s culture, while the technical test gauges your analytical expertise.

1:1 Technical Interview

If you clear the initial assessments, you’ll have a 30-minute one-on-one interview with a member of the analytics team. This interview evaluates your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and situational judgment.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Successfully navigating the preliminary rounds can lead to an invitation to the onsite interview stage. This typically involves three separate one-hour interviews, each focusing on different aspects of the job and conducted by various team members or managers.

STAR Method for Behavioral Questions

Expect most interview questions to be behavioral, requiring using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to frame your answers. Questions might include: - “Tell me about a time when you solved a complex problem.” - “Describe a time you overcame a challenge at work.” - “Talk about a time when you faced a work conflict and what you did to resolve the issue.”

Case Study and Resume Discussions

During one of the interview rounds, you may be asked to discuss a project from your resume in detail or work through a case study relevant to the role you’re applying for.

Final Decision and Offer

After the onsite interviews, decisions are communicated within a week. If successful, you may receive an offer to join Progressive Insurance.

Typically, interviews at Progressive Insurance vary by role and team, but commonly Data Analyst interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

1. What are type I and type II errors in hypothesis testing?

In the context of hypothesis testing, explain the difference between type I errors (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives). Additionally, describe the probability of making each type of error mathematically.

2. How would you select Dashers for Doordash deliveries in NYC and Charlotte?

Doordash is launching delivery services in New York City and Charlotte. Describe the process for selecting Dashers (delivery drivers) and discuss whether the criteria for selection should be the same for both cities.

3. How would you improve Google Maps and measure success?

As a PM on Google Maps, propose improvements to the app. Specify the metrics you would monitor to determine if these feature improvements are successful.

4. Why are job applications decreasing despite stable job postings?

You observe that the number of job postings per day on a job board has remained constant, but the number of applicants has been decreasing. Analyze potential reasons for this trend.

5. How would you analyze the performance of a new LinkedIn feature without A/B testing?

As a data scientist at LinkedIn, you need to evaluate a new feature that allows candidates to message hiring managers directly during the interview process. Due to engineering constraints, A/B testing is not possible. Describe how you would analyze the feature’s performance.

6. What methods could you use to increase recall in product search results without changing the search algorithm?

As a data scientist at Amazon, you want to improve the search results for product searches but cannot change the underlying logic in the search algorithm. What methods could you use to increase recall?

7. What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of a spam classifier model?

You are tasked with building a spam classifier for emails and have built a V1 of the model. What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of the model?

8. How would you justify the complexity of a neural network model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

Your manager asks you to build a model with a neural network to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of building such a model and explain the predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

9. How would you evaluate and validate a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment?

As a data scientist at a bank, you are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will pay back a personal loan. How would you evaluate whether using a decision tree algorithm is the correct model for the problem? How would you evaluate the performance of the model before deployment and after?

10. When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm?

You are comparing two machine learning algorithms. In which case would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? Give an example of the tradeoffs between the two.

11. What’s the probability that the second card drawn from a shuffled deck is not an Ace?

You have to draw two cards from a shuffled deck, one at a time. Calculate the probability that the second card drawn is not an Ace.

12. How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket with a 20% chance of failure?

You can buy a scalped ticket for $50 with a 20% chance of not working. If it fails, you must buy a box office ticket for $70. Calculate the expected cost and the amount of money you should set aside for the game.

13. Is a coin that lands tails 8 out of 10 times fair?

You flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up tails 8 times and heads twice. Determine if the coin is fair based on this outcome.

14. What is the difference between covariance and correlation?

Explain the difference between covariance and correlation. Provide an example to illustrate the distinction.

15. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department.

Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

16. Write a function get_ngrams to return a dictionary of n-grams and their frequency in a string.

Write a function get_ngrams to take in a word (string) and return a dictionary of n-grams and their frequency in the given string.

17. Write a function to determine if a string is a palindrome.

Given a string, write a function to determine if it is a palindrome — a word that reads the same forwards and backwards.

18. Write a query to find users currently “Excited” and never “Bored” with a campaign.

Write a query to find all users that are currently “Excited” and have never been “Bored” with a campaign.

19. Write a function moving_window to find the moving window average of a list of numbers.

Given a list of numbers nums and an integer window_size, write a function moving_window to find the moving window average.

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your Progressive Insurance data analyst interview include:

• Master the STAR Method: Progressive heavily relies on the STAR method for interviews. Ensure you frame your responses meticulously around this structure to align with their expectations.
• Be Ready for Behavioral Questions: Since most questions will be behavioral, recount your experiences with specific examples and details. Prepare scenarios from previous roles where you demonstrated key skills such as problem-solving, conflict resolution, and efficiency improvements.
• Review Your Technical Skills: Be prepared to discuss your technical expertise, including any programming and data analysis tools you’ve used. Familiarity with Progressive’s preferred software and analytical methods can give you an edge.

What is the average salary for a Data Analyst at Progressive Insurance?

What can I expect from Progressive Insurance’s interview process for a Data Analyst position?

The interview process typically consists of several rounds, starting with an initial behavioral and technical test. This is followed by a 30-minute one-on-one interview. If you progress beyond this stage, you may be invited to the final interview rounds, which include multiple one-hour interviews with team leads and employees. Prepare to answer behavioral questions using the STAR method and discuss your technical skills in depth.

What qualifications and skills are necessary for a Data Analyst role at Progressive?

Candidates need a quantitative degree and relevant analytical experience. Preferred skills include proficiency in SQL, SAS, and Excel. Experience with data visualization tools like Tableau, as well as strong written and verbal communication skills, are also valuable.

What is the company culture like at Progressive Insurance?

Progressive prides itself on a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming culture. They emphasize innovation, work-life flexibility, and leadership. The company has received recognition from Energage as a top workplace in these areas.

Interviewing for a Data Analyst position at Progressive Insurance presents a mix of challenges and opportunities. The process tends to be thorough, often involving multiple rounds that focus heavily on behavioral questions using the STAR method. While some candidates appreciate the quick responses and support from recruiters, others have experienced issues like miscommunication and misalignment of feedback. Despite these hurdles, Progressive remains a desirable company, recognized for its inclusive and innovative culture.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Progressive Insurance Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, where you can learn more about Progressive Insurance’s interview process for different positions.

Good luck with your interview!