Progressive Auto Insurance Company Review



Progressive Auto Insurance Company is a well known and trusted insurance company providing car insurance coverage to many US residents. Read this Progressive Auto Insurance Company review to better understand what Progressive is all about and then decide if they may be a good fit to provide your car insurance coverage.

With so many automobile insurance choices the customers today have to do plenty of shopping around before deciding on which one to select. While some customers decide to go with small insurance companies, some other ones like the idea of being covered by an automobile insurance with nationwide presence. Reasons for this might be that big auto insurance companies have more money which gives members security in knowing that they will be paid in case of an accident and they have a higher number of employees which in turn translate to faster claim processing. An automobile insurance company that is known nationwide because of its commercials and its great customer service is Progressive Automobile Insurance Company. Progressive was started in the year 1937 by two lawyers by the names of Joseph Lewis and Jack Green for the sole purpose or providing vehicle owners with security and protection.

An important thing for the company has always been innovation, and they continue to strive for it through the years. Progressive was the first to offer a drive through insurance claim service and the option of paying the premium in installments, the later one which attracted those customers who could not pay the whole payment annually. They became a publicly traded company in the year 1971 and they moved their headquarters to the city of Cleveland. By 1987 the company surpassed the $1 billion in premiums and it only took them 7 years to surpass the $2 billion margin. They kept expanding and now they not only offer automobile insurance, but they started home and property insurance.

Between the years of 1996 and 2005 the company grew an average of 16% every year and expanded their assets from $3.5 to $14 billion. Today, Progressive is one of the best insurance companies in the United States, and the third largest automobile insurance company in the country for that matter. Experts in the insurance company field predict Progressive Auto Insurance to keep growing and the rating of A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best is an indication of that since they rate Progressive as one of the best companies in financial security and performance.

One of the most important things that have launched Progressive Insurance Company to the top of the insurance ladder is their website. In the year 1995 when the Internet was just starting to gain popularity among companies around the United States, Progressive was the first insurance company to launch a website. Although at first it was only composed of only information, it soon became more interactive and the company started gaining customers.

Nowadays, the automobile insurance company prides itself in having one of the best websites in the industry. Some of the features that a customer can find in a Progressive website include a policy and service management section where policyholders can log in to make payments, update their policies, etc. The company also has a direct rate ticker that allows you to see the rate given to you if you are a potential customer, alongside rates of other companies and an online claims reporting. Since customer service is one of the most important things for the company, they also have an agent locator and a part of the website called “Talk to Me” which allows customers who have a question about their quote; to talk to a customer service representative from the company so that their doubts can be clarified.

Like every other company, Progressive has a series of discounts that allow its customers to save some money. The E-sign discount is designed for customers that sign and enroll through the Progressive website, to save $50 instantaneously and the pay in full discount allows a member to pay the entire rate in a single lump, which can end up saving them over 10% of the actual price. Other discounts include but are not limited to good student, more than one car in one policy and good driver discount. Since discounts can also vary by the state that you are in it is important for you to call your Progressive Insurance Agent or contact your local office for more information.

Other features offered if you decide to become a Progressive member are total loss replacement (in case you total your car after an accident), accident forgiveness (which allows the customer to lock in the rate and evade rising rates after an unexpected crash) and online/phone support through text messages, your cell or the internet. Last but not least it is important to discuss the options that premium members (those who pay a little bit more annually) have. Those customers have superior claims service that allows them to just drop off their car right after the crash and immediate response vehicles that show up as soon as you get into a car wreck.

Progressive will continue to grow if they keep providing their customers many different options in coverage, discounts and deductibles. The innovative company that once was started by two lawyers in search for a good way to start their careers now has become one of the best automobile insurance companies in the United States.

Secrets to Getting the Cheapest Auto Insurance?

Auto insurance is designed to help protect you in situations that involve your vehicle. Which is one of the reasons that auto coverage follows the car, Auto insurance is a necessity and requirement in all states? Auto insurance is a complete must for all the drivers. Auto insurance provides third party coverage and has emerged as a legal requirement.

Auto insurance is a very simple thing that may cause much confusion for many people. The lack of knowledge, when shopping for general auto insurance, is the problem that most people have. Auto insurance is one of the most used types of personal insurance. Most states require that you purchase some kind of insurance coverage to drive legally in the state. Auto insurance is a “necessary evil” which is necessary for all automobile owners. But it is not enough to have an insured vehicle; the main thing is to have an insured vehicle with best auto insurance.

Auto insurance is certainly one expense that you have to budget for where doing a little research and making some calls can pay huge dividends in both the short and long term. With little time invested, you can potentially save hundreds a year and tens of thousands over your lifetime. Auto insurance is mandatory for drivers in all 50 U.S. However, most drivers rarely, if ever, look at their auto insurance coverages to see exactly how they are protected financially in the case of an auto accident, natural disaster, or vandalism.

Auto insurance is meant to make you whole in the case of an accident with injury or property damage. It is to protect your assets and protect you from liability. Auto insurance is mandatory for all new vehicles, be it for commercial or personal use. Insurance Companies are coming out with comprehensive policies for its customers. Auto insurance is a mandatory thing, but like wearing a seat belt, it is fundamentally good idea. This is why so many people are reluctant to purchase only the bare minimum required by law in their states.

Drivers are classified based on a number of different characteristics including, but not limited to, age and gender, marital status, where the vehicle is garaged, driving record, make and model of vehicle, prior insurance coverage and annual miles driven. History has shown that drivers with certain characteristics, such as a poor driving record, have a greater chance of being involved in an accident, and the drivers in those classifications must pay higher rates. Drivers do not realize how expensive it is to have and operate a vehicle. This “privilege” is heavily subsidized. Drivers who are similar in other respects: age, gender, location, driving safety record, pay nearly the same premiums if they drive five thousand or fifty thousand miles a year. Just as an all-you-can-eat restaurant encourages more eating, all-can-drive insurance pricing encourages more driving.

Coverages include the type of losses for which the company agrees to pay. Each kind of coverage you buy will have its own section in the policy that details the situations it covers, persons insured under it, definitions of various words used, exclusions that apply to the section, and the limits of the company’s protection in that section. Coverage provided by group and non-group policies generally is similar. Remember, however, that different companies offer different coverage options in their policies.

Companies having insurance for auto mobiles are accorded a rating depending on a combination of factors such as total experience, claims handling, policy opportunities, pricing and financial strength. Companies frequently adjust rates such that no one company stays in the low cost leader slot very long. Unless you get new quotes every year, you never know that you might be able to get better rates from a different auto insurance company. Companies offer discounts to policyholders who have not had any accidents or moving violations for a number of years. You may also get a discount if you take a defensive driving course. Companies renew policies after expiry. A discount on premium is sometimes provided to existing clients.

Car insurance rates for a 16 yr old can gradually decrease as the teenager learns how to show their level of responsibility more effectively. The less risk that driver shows, the lower their rates will be. Car insurance is one such item because they were very easy to possess but today they create difficulty for our pockets. People think a large number of times before going for any particular insurance plan. Cars that have more expensive parts, or are sportier are equipped with higher insurance rates. Buying a less expensive car will cut down on your insurance and liability coverage costs.

Carefully study coverage extent, the length of time it takes to process claims and extras such as free towing or road assistance. Customer support is also extremely important you want an auto insurance company that can give you maximum support whether online or over the phone. Cars with larger engines typically waste even more gas while idling than cars with smaller engines, according to Consumer Reports, as a rule of thumb, turn off your engine if you will be idling for more than 30 seconds.

Car accidents happen more frequently than you think, and car repair costs are higher than ever. And, in our increasingly litigious society, the chances that you will also be sued by another driver in the accident are very high. Cars are given a rating from 1 to 27, and the higher the number, the higher your premium.

Plan your next car purchase as a negotiation between what you really want and how it will affect your insurance premiums. Determine how much extra you are willing to pay in insurance for a car and use that figure to help you determine what your price range is. Plan ahead and potentially saves lots of money.

Persons sharing characteristics with high claims groups will be charged more for insurance coverage. Personally Identifiable Information might include your name, age, mailing address, telephone number, mobile phone number, email address, and other identification and contact information.

Comprehensive insurance policies have deductibles – the amount of money you have to pay out before your insurance company starts picking up the bill, the higher your deductible, the cheaper your monthly premiums. Comprehensive auto insurance will also protect you from any public liability claim made as a consequence of the accident. As well as accidents, your vehicle can also be covered from damage caused by from fire, theft, vandalism, adverse weather and other scenarios. Comprehensive insurance can assist you financially in this but only up to the Kelley Blue Book value of the car. If repair costs exceed this value, the car insurance company will declare it totaled and award you the full cash value of your car.

Additional coverage is recommended if you have a larger net worth. Additionally, life insurance can help pay for funeral costs and therefore ensure that your death will not be a financial burden for your family.

Liability insurance covers the damages caused by your vehicle, whether bodily injury or property damage. The amount of coverage varies by policy and by the kind of damages covered. Liability coverage pays for damage that you’re responsible for and have caused to other people or their property.

State-run insurance guaranty associations, which are supposed to pay claims for insolvent insurance companies, exist in each state. However, while these associations are an important safety net for insurance consumers, they are by no means perfect. State regulators must explicitly approve the type of insurance policies that insurers offer, and in many states current regulations would not even allow pay by the mile policies.

Accordingly, buy a little more than the minimum required, to give you extra cushion of protection. What price are you willing to pay for piece of mind? According to industry professionals, teen drivers add anywhere from 50 percent to 500 percent to a premium. However, many insurance companies will discount the rate when a child is away at school. According to the Insurance Information Institute, increasing your deductible from $250 to $500 can save you up to 20 percent on comprehensive and collision coverage.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article. Information shared here does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice. This article is intended to provide general information only and does not give advice which relates to your individual circumstances.

How to Buy Auto Insurance on the Internet

Are auto insurance agents a dying breed? Today, auto insurance is one of those service businesses that are becoming more and more dominated by online providers.

In fact, there’s some question whether auto insurance agents are needed at all anymore. Do you really want to spend your Saturday morning visiting an auto insurance office being pitched on a single car insurance company’s policy when you can buy auto insurance online any time – weekends, evenings, etc. Not only that, but buying auto insurance online enables you to compare the offerings of several companies side-by-side in terms of policies and premiums. What’s more, you can buy the policy online (in most states), and even file claims online.

One might well point out, of course, that many people simply prefer meeting and talking face-to-face with an insurance agent, rather than simply pounding a computer keyboard. For one thing, they may feel more secure about transferring money (premium payments) in person than on the Internet. For another, they may prefer having a knowledgeable individual they can communicate with and ask questions of.

But the number of such people as a proportion of the adult population is clearly dwindling. According to market research firm ComScore, 67.5% of 2,000 U.S. consumers surveyed last year said they would consider purchasing their next auto insurance policy online. Auto insurance purchasing online has been growing at an amazing 55%+ rate over the past couple years.

Therefore, whether you’re looking for a replacement policy or for your first policy, online auto insurance offers a number of benefits: cost-savings, convenience, speed, and better information about available policies from a range of insurance providers.

Nonetheless, before you sign up for a policy, whether in-person or online, make certain you’re familiar with the basics of auto insurance.

Basics of Online Auto Insurance

If you drive a car in the U.S. you need insurance. That’s an obvious fact. But what kind of insurance and at what price?

Liability insurance. As you may know, there are two basic types of liability insurance, namely bodily injury and property damage. If you buy a 25/30/25 coverage that means the insurer pays up to $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $30,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. So this would be a relatively low amount of coverage, and you must assess your own situation in deciding what level of coverage is best for you. All states, except New Hampshire and Wisconsin, require that you carry liability insurance.

Collision. This category of auto insurance covers your property damage and medical expenses in an accident in which you are at fault.

Comprehensive. This type provides coverage for loss from accidents other than collision, or from theft, for example property damage sustained from flood, fire, or vandalism.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist. Pays you if the other driver in an accident does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance. (It’s not required in all states.)

Personal injury protection. Pays your unrecovered medical expenses as well as lost wages resulting from an accident. PIP may also include a death benefit. (About 16 states now require PIP coverage.)

A source of confusion are so-called “no-fault” auto insurance program. In a no-fault system, all drivers pay their own accident costs, no matter who is to blame. It was for a long time thought that this system would reduce litigation thereby holding down costs. It didn’t happen. In fact it usually resulted in higher accident rates, higher costs, and higher insurance premiums. As a result, most states that had enacted no-fault laws repealed them (DC, NV, PA, NJ, GA, CT, CO, FL). leaving only Michigan, Kansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York North Dakota, and Utah. However a couple states – New Jersey and Pennsylvania – adopted “choice no-fault”, allowing drivers to choose between no-fault and a traditional policy. (Results, in terms of premium levels, have been mixed so far.)

Keeping Your Premiums Down

To the average consumer, insurance firms may seem to have some strange ideas about what factors to consider in setting your insurance rates. For example, I once found my rates increased after another driver hit my car, and when I called the company, and explained that the accident had not been my fault, the customer service rep answered, “Yes, but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

That is, it’s all a numbers game, and there’s no real effort to achieve equity in setting rates. So to win the game you have to provide the company with numbers that will result in reasonable premiums. Some of these you have some control over and some you don’t. Among the factors that will be taken into account are: age/gender (single males under 25 get higher rates; women generally get lower rates); location (New Jersey and California rates are high; urban rates are higher than rural rates; many companies now even look at your zip code); driving history (if you’ve filed one or more claims in the past five years, this will boost your premium significantly; so will a speeding ticket or other violation, even if no claim was filed); amount you drive; type of car (expensive cars get higher premiums, so do cars with high rates of theft, like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord; so do off-road vehicles and large SUV’s).

Finding an Auto Insurance Company on the Internet

If you run a Google, MSN or Yahoo search for “car insurance” or “auto insurance” you’ll see that this is a crowded business on the Internet. There are literally hundreds of companies advertising auto insurance online. However your best bet is to use one of the companies which allow you to order online, like Esurance.com or InsureMe.com.

You’ll soon notice that each online insurance company has its own little qualifying process and series of screens it forces you to go through before it give you a quote.

Esurance.com is a good example. It starts by asking you for your zip code – an easy enough question. Then on the ensuing screens they request detailed information — How many cars you are insuring. How many drivers. Year/Make/Model of your car. Uses of your car. Discounts for which you may be qualified, such as airbags, antilock brakes, car alarm, etc. Coverage you are looking for. And so forth.

The Esurance.com application process is actually fairly simple, and takes only a couple minutes – after which you’re provided with a specific quote from Esurance.com, which is a virtual (online) insurance provider.

By contrast, another website, InsureMe.com takes you through a very similar application process, but concludes without providing you with a specific quote. Instead, it lists several brick-and-mortar insurance companies which will contact you later, either by email or phone, with specific quotes. This has the advantage that you will be able to compare policies and quotes, and the disadvantage that you will have to wait awhile for the companies to contact you.

Other auto insurance aggregators (as they are called) have other processes — some, for example, run your credit report as part of the process.

In any case, as a final step in choosing a policy, you may want to take a little time to check out your selected insurance provider at AMBest.com, particularly if it’s one you’re not familiar with. To do so you’ll have to create an account on AMBest.com to look up an auto insurance company’s rating, but it’s fairly simple to do so. Once you’ve created your account, click on “rating and analysis” and input your company’s name. Companies are assigned a letter grade from “A++” downward. You’ll definitely want your selected company to have at least a “B” rating, which is “good.”

Incidentally, even if you already have what you think is a reasonably-priced policy, it’s usually still a good idea to apply online to see if you can get a better premium rate. After all, there’s no obligation and it only takes a couple minutes. According to a recent survey of consumers by the industry publication EDP Weekly, one in three people who shopped online for auto insurance and then bought a new policy saved more than $500 with some saving $1,100 or more.