October 24, 2009

How Progressive Remains On Top In The Auto Insurance Industry

Progressive Insurance Company should feel just as bubbly and upbeat as Flo, the auto insurance company’s effervescent and likable advertising spokesperson. In its latest honor for industry leadership and innovation, the suburban Cleveland company’s online presence, progressive.com, was named the best website for purchasing and maintaining car insurance for the third quarter of 2009.

This rating is according to Keynote Systems’ 3Q 2009 Insurance Carrier Scorecard. This gives the company its 14th appearance at the top of this particular list in the last 15 scorecards published since 2000. Keynote Systems, the leading provider of test and measurement solution for continuously improving the online experience, compared the websites of 12 major car insurers. In the end, they rated progressive.com best for such customer-focused factors as functionality of its site, ease of use, privacy and security, and quality and availability.

Keynote is widely regarded as the authority when it comes to evaluation websites,’ observed Toby Alfred, Progressive’s general manager of customer acquisition. ‘Our customers and Keynote held us to high standards and constantly challenged us to find innovative ways to enhance the experience of buying car insurance online. We’re proud to be recognized for our efforts.’

The Keynote ranking is only the latest of many honors the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies received over the years, recognizing it for its use of technology to enhance the customer experience. For example, InformationWeek Magazine put Progressive near the top of its InformationWeek 500, an annual ranking of the nation’s most innovative users of business technology. A similar honor came from Forrester Research, which made Progressive a winner of its Voice of the Customer Awards in recognition of the company’s innovative efforts to continually improve customer service.

Progressive is one of the nation’s largest auto insurance groups and the leading seller of motorcycle and personal watercraft policies. More than 100,000 people a month go online to progressive.com or pick up the phone and dial a toll-free number at Progressive Direct to compare auto insurance rates from Progressive and its leading competitors. Customers are told even when a competitor can offer a better deal, lending the company a heightened sense of integrity and credibility.

The recent recognition is well deserved. In 1995, Progressive became the first major auto insurance group in the world to launch a website. It was also a first in the U.S. to receive payment from a customer’s PDA and the first to connect with its customers by VOiP, the Voice Over the Internet protocol. With advertising campaigns that are constantly recognized for their creativity, humor and effectiveness, Progressive is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s most popular and best-regarded auto insurance companies.