Smart Auto Insurance Blog

The company who is most well known for kicking off the compare auto insurance rates online trend has a unique and interesting way to promote their new commercial.  Progressive Auto Insurance held a try out session for someone to appear along side Flo, Progressive’s national ad insurance clerk who is very well-received by America.

There was a wide variety of people interested in the gig, from magicians to soprano soloists.  Thousands tried out for this once in a lifetime opportunity.  The semi-finalists were recently named and Progressive is leaving it up to America to vote for their favorite prospect.  According to the press release “It’s America’s Turn to Vote to ‘Insure’ Their Favorite Makes it to the Finals” found on marketwatch.com, Flo finds the turnout flattering and is looking forward to working with one of the semi-finalists.

To view the videos and make a vote go to HelpFlo.com today through May 3rd.  Once the polls closed the 3 finalists will be announced.  The winner will be announced later that month.  Chris Owen, the Marketing Business Leader for Progressive says that after 3 months, 3 cities, and over 2500 contestants it’s been one fierce competition.

According to the article “AG Finds Herself on 2 Sides of a Dispute” by Bruce Mohl on boston.com, the Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is defending something she criticized not too long ago.  She is the state’s top lawyer and is defending Governor Patrick’s Administration against a lawsuit that’s saying some of the state’s auto insurance rules unfairly favor national companies coming to the MA market, such as Progressive Auto Insurance. There has also been some criticism of the way Massachusetts auto insurance quotes are determined.

The interesting thing is that this same attorney general has been known to criticize the same regulations.  She has been a representative of consumers on auto insurance debates and released a report just before the holidays that stated her belief that the managed competition auto insurance system is not saving MA drivers money.  She also accused Governor Patrick of playing favorites when determining auto insurance rules.

She basically argued in court that state officials are acting reasonably in making the auto insurance rules, but just weeks ago accuses them of playing favorites. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if her two-sided judgement affects her defense.

Progressive auto insurance has a lot of valuable information on SR-22 insurance on their website.  They point out that they can help if the court happens to order to you carry this type of insurance for high-risk drivers.

You may be asked to carry the SR-22 for numerous reasons including driving without insurance, DUI, at fault accidents while driving without insurance, repeat traffic offenses, too many tickets in a short period of time, revoked license or other serious moving violations. 

Progressive will file the SR-22 insurance form with your state’s DMV for you.  Once this has been done you generally can begin to drive legally.  Since SR-22’s are state specific there are variances from one state to another.  It’s important to ensure you understand what your state requires of you.  There are also special requirements if you move to another state in the midst of needing SR-22 insurance.  Many auto insurance companies, including Progressive, can help answer your SR-22 questions and fulfill your auto insurance needs.

Following up on a previous blog post announcing GEICO filing paper work to begin selling auto insurance in Massachusetts, last Monday GEICO went live, and is now actively selling Massachusetts auto insurance policies to MA residents.

GEICO’s first customer in MA was Beth Opishinski of Whitman, Mass.

Over the past year, Massachusetts has seen many of the nations leading auto insurance companies re-enter the auto insurance market providing them with more options when choosing an auto insurance policy.  Recent market entrants include Progressive Insurance Company, Esurance, GEICO, and Allstate will join the fun shortly.

The Associated Press reports that GEICO has filed paperwork with the Department of Insurance and will begin selling auto insurance in Massachusetts.

GEIGO will be the second national auto insurance carrier to enter the Massachusetts auto insurance market since the state moved to “managed competition” last year, Progressive Insurance Company was the first.

Massachusetts was the last state to have their auto insurance rates set by state regulators before moving to a managed competition environment last year.

Progressive Insurance Company has expanded their optional usage-based auto insurance program to include drivers in Missouri.  The program called MyRate gives drivers a customized auto insurance rate based on their driving habits, (i.e. how much, and when their car is driven.)

New Missouri auto insurance customers get an immediate first-term discount of up to 10% when they sign up for MyRate.   When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25%. or be charged up to 9% more, based on their driving habits.

The MyRate program is now being rolled out nationally pending regulatory approval on a state-by-state basis.

More information about Missouri auto insurance.

A new program from Progressive Insurance allows drivers to go online and pick their own auto insurance premium. The Name Your Price tool on their website will show you the most package that best fits the price you entered. Then, you can gradually change the desired level of coverage with a slider (Want lower auto insurance rates? Up your deductible or lower your coverage limit). Pretty simple, right?

The insurer plans to take the Name Your Price tool nationwide this year. It’s currently available in these states:

• California
• Ohio
• Texas
• Florida
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Georgia
• Maryland
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• Pennsylvania
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Washington

Get your own Progressive Insurance quotes.

Progressive Insurance is launching its MyRate tracking device in Kentucky this week, according to Alex Davis from the Courier-Journal. The product is a small computer that plugs into a car’s diagnostic port under the dashboard (for cars built after 1996) and tracks a person’s driving habits. Based on those results, individual auto insurance premiums will be calculated

Behaviors tracked by MyRate include:

• How often a driver slams on the brakes
• How often a driver accelerates rapidly
• When a vehicle is used
• How many miles are driven

According to Jeffrey Krasner in the Boston Globe, Progressive Insurance’s website recently showed incorrect comparisons with other auto insurance companies, making their rates appear cheaper than they really are. A computer glitch compared the price of Progressive’s 6-month policy with 12-month policies from Commerce Insurance or Liberty Mutual. (Unlike most Massachusetts auto insurance companies, Progressive sells policies in 6-month increments.)

Progressive spokesperson Cristy Colt stresses that they weren’t intentionally trying to mislead consumers; rather, the system is meant to divide competitors’ prices in half to show fair auto insurance quote comparisons. For now, the rate comparison tool on their website is down, and Progressive is sending letters to inform about 21,000 consumers whose decisions may have been affected by the error.

(Photo credit: wallyg under CC 2.0)