(See the ad)

St. Paul is spending between $50 million and $100 million this year on its campaign, up from less than $1 million in 2005.

The elaborate production values and the soaring ad spending come at a time when the property and casualty insurance business is only growing 2% to 3% annually, industry executives say.

"Everyone is fighting in the same fish bowl. It's a battle to take the next policy holder away" says Ted Ward, Geico's vice president of marketing.

But the more insurers advertise, the more difficult it is for anyone to stand out. A TV spot from Progressive even alludes to the glut. "These days car insurance ads are everywhere," says the actor in front of a bus shelter with an insurance ad. "They have become hard to avoid."