A guide to the Progressive Insurance company

Founded by Joseph Lewis and Jack Green in 1937, Progressive began operations as a vehicle insurance company. Its mission was to make vehicle insurance accessible to every American. Since inception, Progressive has kept on innovating, which it why it enjoys such a formidable reputation.

Innovative and creative marketing strategies

Progressive is a creative car insurance company. It offered a drive-in insurance service when no other insurance company had even thought it. Progressive was also first in allowing its customers to pay premiums in installments. This appealed to folks who could not afford to pay the full premium in one go. In 1955, Joe Lewis died and his son, Peter Lewis, began his career with Progressive. Peter was a creative man, and in 1956, Progressive Casualty Company was formed to offer insurance to high-risk drivers. This was followed by more aggressive growth and in the 1960s, the Progressive Corporation was formed. Peter took over as CEO, a post he held till 2000. In between, in 1971, Progressive became a public company. In 1987, it crossed $1 billion in premiums. In the same year, it was listed on the NY Stock Exchange under the PGR symbol. The Immediate Response was introduced in 1990. It was a 24/7 service which provides immediate personal support to customers once they register a claim. In 1992, Progressive was acknowledged as the largest automobile insurance seller by using independent insurance agents. Not surprisingly, in 1994, Progressive surpassed $2 billion in premiums. In 1994, Progressive introduced 1-800-AUTO-PRO, a service which helped in comparing auto insurance quotes. Customers could just call this number to compare premiums charged by three different companies. Policies could also be sold on phone, immediately. This service is available today at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE. In the same year, Progressive launched IRV (Immediate Response Vehicle) a creative variation of the Immediate Response scheme. Customers could call the IRV and a special vehicle would ferry trained claim professionals to wherever the customers wanted them, even to the accident site. In 2000, Progressive introduced the concierge level of claims service. It took the responsibility of overseeing all facets of claims/repairs thereby freeing up a lot of time for their customers. All customers had to do was drop the cars in repair centers. In 2006, this service was extended to help accident drivers whose vehicles were beyond repair.

Current status

Today, Progressive is a car insurance giant because of its innovative schemes. Even its website helps customers in real-time in the areas of policy management, claims reporting, auto insurance rate ticker, agent locator, instant auto quotes and a VoIP service. Besides, you can even buy insurance for boats, snowmobiles, Segway HTs, business vehicles, motorcycles and even homes.