Progressive Introduces On-Line Auto Insurance Sales
14 April 1998
Progressive Introduces Real-Time Sales of Auto Insurance Policies On Internet to California Consumers
California is Third State with 'Internet Buy' Option on Company's Web Site
SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 14 -- Beginning today, Progressive,
one of the nation's largest auto insurers, offers California motorists the
option of shopping for and buying their auto insurance instantly over the
Internet at the company's Web site, http://www.progressive.com. Progressive
was the first major auto insurer to offer real-time sales of auto insurance
policies over the Internet when it introduced its "buy" option to Minnesota
consumers in August 1997. The company introduced the service to Virginia
consumers in February 1998.
The company's introduction of an "Internet Buy" option makes its auto
policies perhaps the most widely available to consumers. Consumers in most
U.S. states can compare rates available to them by visiting the company's Web
site, http://www.progressive.com, and consumers in Minnesota, Virginia and
California can now buy their policies real-time directly over the Internet.
Consumers can also shop for and buy a Progressive auto policy through more
than 30,000 Independent Agents throughout the U.S. and in Canada and via the
company's "Express Quote" service, accessible 24 hours a day by dialing
1-800-AUTO-PRO(R).
The auto insurance shopping options Progressive offers to consumers
provide an opportunity to compare rates available to them from Progressive and
other leading auto insurers. The company's Internet site and Express Quote
service (1-800-AUTO-PRO) let consumers compare Progressive's quote with the
rates of up to three other market leaders, including State Farm and Allstate,
and Independent Agents representing Progressive can help consumers understand
what other auto insurance companies selling through Independent Agents would
charge for the same policy.
"Consumers need to shop around to compare rates to be sure they're getting
the best rate available to them," said Mark Niehaus, Northern California
General Manager, Progressive. "Our Internet option gives them one more choice
in the ways to shop around."
The company's Web site was recently awarded the "Best of Insurance" award
from Financial NetNews, a publication of Institutional Investor, Inc. In the
February 16, 1998 edition, Financial NetNews said of Progressive's Web site:
"The auto insurer is pushing the envelope in an industry that has largely been
slow to go online."
Progressive serves the auto insurance needs of more than
212,000 California motorists, employs nearly 600 Californians and operates
14 offices in the state. Countrywide and in Canada, the company serves the
auto insurance needs of nearly 4 million consumers, employs more than
14,500 people and operates more than 350 local claims offices to serve
policyholder needs. The company's services, including Immediate Response(R)
claims service and 24 Hour Policy Service are available in person, 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.
In business since 1937, Progressive provides consumers throughout the U.S.
and in Canada with competitively priced automobile insurance and 24 hour,
in-person services and is the nation's largest writer of automobile insurance
through Independent Agents. The Progressive companies that write auto
insurance in California are rated A++ by A.M. Best. A++ is the highest rating
available from the independent company that rates the financial conditions of
insurance companies. The Progressive Corporation's stock is traded on the New
York Stock Exchange .
More information about the company can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.progressive.com.
SOURCE Progressive Insurance
