Progressive Corp. (PGR), locked in a battle for drivers' insurance business, unveiled a more graphical way to compare premiums and insurance coverage on its web site.

The new graphical feature, introduced Thursday during the company's meeting with investors, allows customers to move a sliding bar on a chart on Progressive's Web site to see how much insurance coverage they can get for various prices.

The product, called "Name Your Price," gives auto insurance shoppers the ability to pick the monthly price they would like to pay for auto insurance and then see what level of coverage they can get for their money. The sliding bar on the Progressive Web site allows consumers to get a feel for how much more or less coverage they get as they slide a bar to a higher or lower dollar value.

"The message of 'save $500 or $400' is too ubiquitous," said John P. Sauerland, president of personal lines at Progressive, during the company's investor meeting Thursday, which was Webcast. "That message is getting stale. This can provide a very unique message in the marketplace."

Sauerland said the company had applied for a U.S. patent on the concept two days ago and plans to launch Name Your Price in two states in the next month.

Progressive has long been considered one of the most innovative auto insurance marketers and has been active in marketing on the Internet, but in recent years, tough competition has taken a toll on the insurer, the third-largest by premiums written after State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Allstate Corp. ALL) . Geico Insurance, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA BRKB) is a close fourth.

The competition has driven up marketing costs to around $500 million a year for the biggest insurers and has led to a glut of advertising on television and the Internet. Sauerland said it is hard to break through the marketing clutter.

In the past year, Allstate has been successful with its new auto insurance product called Your Choice, which allows customers to upgrade their policy and get extra features for a higher price.

Sauerland said the Name Your Price product offers a "significant" new message.

Sauerland said the insurer was also testing a loyalty program, which would reward customers for staying with the insurer over time.

Shares of Progressive recently traded up 2.4% to $20.78.

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