Is National Continental Legit?

Last Updated on October 16, 2026

By James Shaffer · Reviewed by Thomas Rockford, insurance industry executive and financial analyst, on October 16, 2026 · How we fact-check

National Continental Insurance Company is a real, regulated insurer, and it is a commercial one. New York’s Department of Financial Services examined it as of December 31, 2022 and put its ownership in one sentence: “The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progressive Commercial Holdings, Inc.” The business it writes is described just as plainly: “liability, physical damage, and other auto related insurance for automobiles and trucks owned by small businesses.” So if you are shopping for insurance on your own car, this is not a company you buy from. It is the Progressive company that insures work vehicles. Our Progressive auto insurance review covers the consumer side of the group.

There is one reason a driver rather than a business owner sees this name: New Jersey’s Special Automobile Insurance Policy, the program people call “Dollar-a-Day.” National Continental used to run it. The same examination report says the company “placed risks on its paper for the state-mandated voluntary New Jersey Special Automobile Insurance Plan (‘SAIP’),” and then says when that stopped: “On December 31, 2022, the SAIP expired and was non-renewed.” The program itself is still going. The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance now lists National Specialty Insurance Company as the SAIP insurer, at 1-888-851-7473. If you are holding paperwork with National Continental on it, you are holding something written before 2023.

What Is National Continental?

National Continental Insurance Company is a licensed property and casualty insurer inside the Progressive group, and specifically inside its commercial arm. New York’s Department of Financial Services, which examined the company for the five years ending December 31, 2022, calls it “a wholly owned subsidiary of Progressive Commercial Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which is a direct subsidiary of TPC” (The Progressive Corporation). The same report says it was “licensed to write business in all states and in the District of Columbia” as of that date, and that its business comes in “by independent insurance agencies, and directly by the Company online, through the Progressive mobile application, and over the phone.”

Being licensed everywhere is not the same as selling to everyone. What the company writes is commercial: in the examiners’ words, “liability, physical damage, and other auto related insurance for automobiles and trucks owned by small businesses.” The report never uses the phrase private passenger, and there is no National Continental policy for the car in your driveway. A sole proprietor with a work truck is a different story, and that is a conversation for a commercial agent or Progressive’s commercial side.

If you are trying to confirm you are dealing with the real company rather than someone using its name, compare the exact insurer name and NAIC number on your policy documents against a state insurance department directory or the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search. New York publishes its full examination report of the company, which is about as official as a paper trail gets.

Why National Continental Turns Up on New Jersey SAIP Paperwork

New Jersey’s Special Automobile Insurance Policy (SAIP) is for certain Medicaid recipients who receive hospitalization benefits. People call it “Dollar-a-Day” because it costs roughly $1 a day. Programs like this one are not sold by the state itself. They are handed to an insurance company to administer, which is called being the service carrier, and for years that company was National Continental. New York’s examiners recorded both the arrangement and its end: the company “placed risks on its paper for the state-mandated voluntary New Jersey Special Automobile Insurance Plan (‘SAIP’),” and “On December 31, 2022, the SAIP expired and was non-renewed.”

That is the whole explanation for why a commercial trucking insurer kept showing up in articles about low-income car insurance in New Jersey. It was never selling drivers a product of its own design. It was running the state’s program, and it stopped at the end of 2022. New Jersey’s own auto insurer contact list now shows National Specialty Insurance Company next to SAIP, with the phone number 1-888-851-7473.

SAIP is not a “normal” auto policy. It is a medical-only policy with very limited benefits, and that has not changed with the change of carrier. If you are deciding whether SAIP is right for you, start with our explainer on Dollar-a-Day car insurance in New Jersey.

What SAIP Actually Covers

SAIP coverage is standardized by the state, so no carrier changes it and nobody builds a custom package. There are no add-ons for liability, collision or comprehensive. New Jersey publishes the benefits in a few lines, and the figures below come from the state’s own description of the policy.

SAIP Coverage at a Glance

That limited design is exactly why SAIP costs what it costs, and it also means you are personally on the hook if you cause an accident that injures someone or damages property. A SAIP policy makes you legal to drive in New Jersey. It does not protect your money.

How SAIP Pricing and Eligibility Work

SAIP is offered at a fixed program price in New Jersey: $360 a year, or $365 if paid in two six-month installments, as the state’s own planner page puts it. There are no discounts to hunt for, because the program is standardized. Eligibility is the part people get wrong: it is open to certain Medicaid recipients who receive hospitalization benefits, and the state says plainly that not all low-income drivers qualify.

Eligibility is tied to Medicaid with hospitalization. If you’re wondering how public assistance interacts with auto insurance, see: does welfare pay for car insurance? And if you’re unsure what Medicaid does (and doesn’t) pay for in auto-related situations, review: does Medicaid cover auto insurance?

SAIP generally requires that you maintain a valid driver’s license and registration. If you’re dealing with reinstatement issues, this guide may help: car insurance with a suspended driver’s license.

How to Apply for SAIP Today, and Who Writes It Now

You apply through New Jersey insurance producers, in other words licensed agents. For official program guidance, start with the New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance’s Auto Insurance Purchasing Planner page for SAIP: Special Automobile Insurance Policy (SAIP) information. That page also gives the Personal Automobile Insurance Plan customer service line, 1-800-652-2471, for questions about eligibility and applications.

On the question this page gets asked most: the insurer listed for SAIP today is National Specialty Insurance Company, not National Continental. You do not have to take our word for it, and these two state and plan resources are where to look, since a program carrier can change again:

• AIPSO New Jersey Plan Site (program contact information and servicing updates)
• NJ DOBI Auto Insurer Contacts (the SAIP row reads “National Specialty Insurance Company 1-888-851-7473”)

Is National Continental Legit? What to Check Before You Pay

Yes. National Continental is a real, licensed insurer, examined by New York regulators and owned by Progressive’s commercial holding company. Two things follow from that. It is not a company you can buy personal car insurance from, so an offer of a National Continental policy on your own car is a reason to slow down. And legitimacy always comes down to the exact entity on the paperwork rather than a brand someone says over the phone.

A Simple Legitimacy Checklist

• Match the legal name: The insurer name on your declarations page should match a state insurance department directory listing.
• Verify the NAIC number: National Continental is commonly associated with NAIC 10243. If the NAIC number doesn’t match, treat it as a red flag.
• Confirm the program: If this is SAIP, the state’s current listing is National Specialty Insurance Company at 1-888-851-7473. Verify through NJ DOBI or AIPSO, linked above.
• Use official payment methods: Be cautious of payment requests via gift cards, wire transfers, or peer-to-peer apps.

If you want a policy that protects more than your own emergency care, you need the standard market. Start with our guide to the best car insurance in New Jersey and compare low-cost options in our budget auto insurance guide.

Final Word on National Continental

National Continental is a legitimate Progressive company that insures small-business cars and trucks, and its consumer-facing history is one job it no longer has: running New Jersey’s SAIP, which ended December 31, 2022. If you are a driver who landed here, the useful answer is somebody else’s name. SAIP today comes from National Specialty Insurance Company, and SAIP is still a medical-only policy that does not give you the liability protection most drivers assume they are buying.

Disclosure: Eligibility rules, servicing insurers, and program administration can change. Always confirm details with the New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance or the program administrator before buying or renewing coverage.

My advice: whatever the program, read the insurer’s name off your own declarations page and look it up before you pay anybody. Service carriers on state plans get swapped out every few years and the old name keeps circulating online for a long time afterward. The declarations page is the only thing that tells you who is actually insuring you today.

New Jersey SAIP and National Continental Contact Snapshot

FAQs on National Continental Legitimacy

Sources

Checked October 5, 2026

• New York Department of Financial Services — Report on Examination of National Continental Insurance Company as of December 31, 2022, May 15, 2024
• New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — Auto Insurer Contacts
• New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — NJ DOBI Auto Insurance Purchasing Planner, Special Automobile Insurance Policy