Progressive Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Progressive Corporation , known as the Progressive Casualty Insurance Company through its subsidiaries, provides personal automobile insurance, and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services in the United States.
The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joe Lewis and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.
. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for private passenger automobiles, motorcycle
s, boat
s, and recreational vehicle
s through both an independent agency
channel and a direct channel. The Commercial Auto segment writes primary liability and physical damage insurance for automobiles and trucks owned by businesses primarily through the independent agency channel. The Other-indemnity segment provides professional liability insurance
to community bank
s, principally directors, and officers liability insurance. It also provides insurance-related services, primarily providing policy issuance and claims adjusting services in 25 states for Commercial Auto Insurance Procedures/Plans. In 2010, the company was ranked 161 in the Fortune 500
.
, Allstate
, GEICO
, Nationwide Insurance, Farmers Insurance Group, and USAA
. Progressive primarily offers its services through the Internet or by phone and through independent insurance agents. Progressive's Agency business sells insurance through more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies and progressiveagent.com where customers can quote their own policies and then contact an agent to complete the sale.
In December 2009, Progressive announced it was selling car insurance in Australia. Initially called Progressive Direct it rebranded as Progressive in 2011.
Immediate Response Vehicles (IRVs) used by Progressive are specially modified Ford Explorer
s and Ford Escape
s.
, who explains the benefits of Progressive Insurance. In December 2010, the company introduced the "Messenger," as a complementary campaign.
In 2009, the company was accused of ordering their advertisements off the air during the show broadcast of Glenn Beck
on the Fox News Channel
over comments made about U.S. President Barack Obama
. Progressive stated that they never authorized their ads to be aired during Beck's program, and they aired in that timeslot due to Fox's error.
Snapshot is Progressive’s Pay As You Drive, or usage-based insurance
program. Snapshot is a voluntary discount program where drivers can save money on their car insurance by sharing their driving habits with Progressive. According to Progressive, Snapshot is best for people who drive less, in safer ways and during safer times of day. Snapshot customers can make changes to their driving habits that will lead to bigger discounts by checking their driving data and projected discount on progressive.com over the course of their initial policy period.
Drivers plug a device the size of a garage door opener into the on-board diagnostic (OBD) port of their car. The device records and sends the driving data to Progressive, and Progressive uses that information to calculate the rate. After 30 days, customers find out if they’re eligible for a discount – up to 30 percent – based on that 30-day “snapshot” of their driving habits. At the end of a six-month policy period, Progressive calculates the customer’s renewal discount and customers return the device to Progressive. Drivers’ rates can’t go up with Snapshot. And the discount is not based on location or speed. The device does not have GPS and the company doesn’t take into account how fast the car goes. Snapshot is voluntary and customers can opt out at any time.
Snapshot is available in 39 states including: Alabama
, Arizona
, Arkansas
, Colorado
, Connecticut
, District of Columbia, Florida
, Georgia
, Idaho
, Iowa
, Kansas
, Kentucky
, Louisiana
, Maine
, Maryland
, Michigan
, Mississippi
, Montana
, Minnesota
, Missouri
, Nebraska
, Nevada
, New Hampshire
, New Jersey
, New Mexico
, New York
, North Dakota
, Ohio
, Oklahoma
, Oregon
, Pennsylvania
, Rhode Island
, South Carolina
, South Dakota
, Texas
, Utah
, Vermont
, Virginia
, Wisconsin
and Wyoming
.
, home of the Cleveland Indians
, was renamed Progressive Field. Progressive signed a 16-year contract for the naming rights, as well as sponsorship rights to become the Official Auto Insurer of the Cleveland Indians. The agreement costs around $3.6 million per year. (Mayfield Village, Ohio, where the company is based, is a suburb of Cleveland.)
In March 2008, Progressive announced its title sponsorship of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE
and their funding of the $10 million prize purse. The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles. The competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles.
On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the 2011 Gator Bowl
college football bowl game.
In 2007, the company apologized after it was revealed they hired private investigators to infiltrate a church group and pose as congregation members to collect information on litigants seeking redress from the company. Another lawsuit was filed by the litigants over the affair against the company for invasion of privacy and fraud.
In 2009, the company was sued for allegedly deceiving policyholders by employing illegally-operated, unlicensed body shops to make repairs on vehicles for their clients in order to save money. The class action lawsuit of Blue Ash Auto Body Inc. v. Progressive Insurance is pending in Ohio.
The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joe Lewis and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.
Segments
The company operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Auto, and Other-indemnityIndemnity
An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...
. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for private passenger automobiles, motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s, boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s, and recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
s through both an independent agency
Agency (law)
The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another to create a legal relationship with a third party...
channel and a direct channel. The Commercial Auto segment writes primary liability and physical damage insurance for automobiles and trucks owned by businesses primarily through the independent agency channel. The Other-indemnity segment provides professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance , also called professional indemnity insurance but more commonly known as errors & omissions in the US, is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice- and service-providing individuals and companies from bearing the full cost of defending...
to community bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, principally directors, and officers liability insurance. It also provides insurance-related services, primarily providing policy issuance and claims adjusting services in 25 states for Commercial Auto Insurance Procedures/Plans. In 2010, the company was ranked 161 in the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
.
Industry information
Progressive is one of the largest auto insurers in the United States, with over 10 million policies in force, along with State FarmState Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....
, Allstate
Allstate
The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
, GEICO
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
, Nationwide Insurance, Farmers Insurance Group, and USAA
USAA
United Services Automobile Association is a Fortune 500 financial services company offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the United States military. In 2011, there were 8.4 million members. The company reported a net worth of $19.3 billion in...
. Progressive primarily offers its services through the Internet or by phone and through independent insurance agents. Progressive's Agency business sells insurance through more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies and progressiveagent.com where customers can quote their own policies and then contact an agent to complete the sale.
In December 2009, Progressive announced it was selling car insurance in Australia. Initially called Progressive Direct it rebranded as Progressive in 2011.
Marketing and operations
Progressive's marketing campaign is known for offering quotes of its competitors along with its own quote. It was the first major insurer to offer auto policies through the phone and through its web site. In September 2007 Progressive began to offer Pet Injury coverage, which provides coverage for dogs and cats that are injured in a crash and is included at no additional cost with Collision coverage.Immediate Response Vehicles (IRVs) used by Progressive are specially modified Ford Explorer
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a sport-utility vehicle sold in North America and built by the Ford Motor Company since 1990, as a replacement for the smaller but related Ford Bronco II. It is manufactured in Chicago, Illinois...
s and Ford Escape
Ford Escape
The Ford Escape is a compact SUV sold by the automaker Ford Motor Company introduced in 2000 as a 2001 model year and priced below the Ford Explorer. Although technically it's a crossover vehicle, it is marketed by Ford as part of its traditional SUV lineup rather than its separate crossover lineup...
s.
Advertising
Progressive's television advertisements depict an insurance superstore with an overly enthusiastic cashier named FloFlo (Progressive Insurance)
Flo is a fictional character that appears in commercials for Progressive Insurance. The character was created by the Boston-based agency Arnold Worldwide, specifically copywriter John Park and art director Steve Reepmeyer...
, who explains the benefits of Progressive Insurance. In December 2010, the company introduced the "Messenger," as a complementary campaign.
In 2009, the company was accused of ordering their advertisements off the air during the show broadcast of Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
on the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
over comments made about U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Progressive stated that they never authorized their ads to be aired during Beck's program, and they aired in that timeslot due to Fox's error.
Products
According to a February 2011 Wall Street Journal article, Progressive has a leg up on its rivals in Pay As You Drive insurance, a form of vehicle insurance also generically known as usage-based insurance. Progressive has three U.S. patents covering usage-based insurance methods and systems, with more patents pending. Progressive began working on the concept in the mid 1990’s and continues to refine the concept and bring it to the mass market.Snapshot is Progressive’s Pay As You Drive, or usage-based insurance
Usage-based insurance
Usage based insurance, also known as pay as you drive and mile-based auto insurance is a type of automobile insurance whereby the costs of motor insurance are dependent upon type of vehicle used, measured against Time, Distance and Place....
program. Snapshot is a voluntary discount program where drivers can save money on their car insurance by sharing their driving habits with Progressive. According to Progressive, Snapshot is best for people who drive less, in safer ways and during safer times of day. Snapshot customers can make changes to their driving habits that will lead to bigger discounts by checking their driving data and projected discount on progressive.com over the course of their initial policy period.
Drivers plug a device the size of a garage door opener into the on-board diagnostic (OBD) port of their car. The device records and sends the driving data to Progressive, and Progressive uses that information to calculate the rate. After 30 days, customers find out if they’re eligible for a discount – up to 30 percent – based on that 30-day “snapshot” of their driving habits. At the end of a six-month policy period, Progressive calculates the customer’s renewal discount and customers return the device to Progressive. Drivers’ rates can’t go up with Snapshot. And the discount is not based on location or speed. The device does not have GPS and the company doesn’t take into account how fast the car goes. Snapshot is voluntary and customers can opt out at any time.
Snapshot is available in 39 states including: Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, District of Columbia, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
Corporate sponsorship
In January 2008, Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, home of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, was renamed Progressive Field. Progressive signed a 16-year contract for the naming rights, as well as sponsorship rights to become the Official Auto Insurer of the Cleveland Indians. The agreement costs around $3.6 million per year. (Mayfield Village, Ohio, where the company is based, is a suburb of Cleveland.)
In March 2008, Progressive announced its title sponsorship of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE
Automotive X Prize
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE was a set of competitions, programs and events, from the X Prize Foundation to "inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break America's addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change." Progressive Insurance was the title...
and their funding of the $10 million prize purse. The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles. The competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles.
On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the 2011 Gator Bowl
2011 Gator Bowl
The 2011 Gator Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten and Mississippi State Bulldogs of the SEC, and was played on January 1, 2011 , at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the sixty sixth edition of the bowl game and was...
college football bowl game.
Controversies
In 2002, the company settled with the State of Georgia in a class action lawsuit over diminished value claims brought by policyholders.In 2007, the company apologized after it was revealed they hired private investigators to infiltrate a church group and pose as congregation members to collect information on litigants seeking redress from the company. Another lawsuit was filed by the litigants over the affair against the company for invasion of privacy and fraud.
In 2009, the company was sued for allegedly deceiving policyholders by employing illegally-operated, unlicensed body shops to make repairs on vehicles for their clients in order to save money. The class action lawsuit of Blue Ash Auto Body Inc. v. Progressive Insurance is pending in Ohio.