Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to multiple company press releases through Business Wire, Progressive auto insurance is hiring in Tampa, Colorado Springs, Austin, Cleveland and Phoenix.  Florida’s unemployment rate is close to 10%, so opening up 390 jobs in Tampa is a big boost to the economy.  The positions run throughout sales, claims and service at the Riverview contact center.  Progressive is known for being a great employer partly because of their on site fitness and medical facilities as well as a casual dress code.  The St. Petersburg Times voted Progressive auto insurance one of the top places to work in Tampa.  At the Cleveland home office facility, Progressive is hiring 337 new workers.  They are also hiring 65 workers in Phoenix.

In Austin, Progressive is adding 185 of the same type of positions in their Texas facility.  Texas has an unemployment rate of almost 8%, so these service, sales and claims jobs are just what the city of Austin needs.  Progressive pays employees for all training and also offers them the benefits of medical, life, vision, and dental insurance.  At Progressive’s Colorado Springs facility, they will be hiring 129 new faces.  The company is looking for people with some background in customer service.  New employees will help with quotes on auto insurance as well as sales and claims.  Progressive has a long list of amenities and benefits to offer their employees which is a big reason they are such a popular auto insurance company.  Happy employees take good care of their customers and Progressive is looking to add 1,106 employees by July.

A recent press release from Business Wire announces that Progressive Auto Insurance has been recognized for excellence in online auto insurance assistance.  In today’s online environment, more and more consumers are turning to the Internet to compare auto insurance quotes and benefits.  ProgressiveAgent.com offers a wide variety of services making the user experience easier and more straight forward and this has been recognized through receipt of the Standard of Excellence award from the 2011 Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards competition.

Progressive’s Agency distribution business leader, Karen Barone, says this website was specifically designed to make it easier for consumers to use a local agent and also help agents grown their businesses.  They feel honored to receive this award and feel good that they are doing things right.  ProgressiveAgent.com helps consumers find quotes, find a local agent, and also research insurance options.  You can learn more about Progressive’s variety of insurance options including boat, commercial auto and motorcycle insurance.

The judges at the online awards competition say ProgressiveAgent.com is useful and easy to navigate.  Many websites are looked at and seven criteria are considered.  This includes design, copywriting, innovation, content, interactivity, technology, and ease of use.  Websites across the nation are considered and 96 industries were reviewed by judges.  This is a great opportunity for websites to compete and show off their best practices through the competition.  Overall, it should make user experience better for all consumers turning to the Internet for their shopping needs.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

Progressive Auto Insurance has been named in Diversity MBA Magazine in its “50 Out Front Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers to Work” list.  The magazine lists the top companies for women and minorities to pursue positions of leadership each year.  Progressive is known for embracing diversity and it shows in this honor.

Neil Lenane, Progressive’s director of employee experience says people with different backgrounds and experiences are crucial to the growth of the business.  He believes it’s the diversity that makes Progressive Auto Insurance Company such a great place to work.  Progressive was named in part because of their consistent commitment to diversity throughout their entire company.  Progressive recruiters advertise with ethnically diverse organizations and job boards to encourage the growth of their diverse community.

Diversity MBA Magazine looks at over 400 employers on the Fortune 500 list and consider a variety of factors including employee retention, recruitment efforts, and the company’s accountability.  The magazine says that it’s a very competitive list with a 30% increase in participation by companies this year.

In many states teenagers can receive their drivers license at age 16 once they have passed a written test as well as a driving test.  At this point you will need to look into auto insurance for your new driver.  Many auto insurers such as Progressive and Acceptance Insurance offer policies to these young drivers, but rates may be higher and if you add the driver onto your existing policy you can expect to see your premium increase, in some cases relatively drastically.

You can see your auto insurance rates come down over the years with your teen on your policy by encouraging good grades which can earn discounts and demanding safe driving habits.  The Department of Motor Vehicles in various states offer teen driving education from everything like passing the written test to the importance of never drinking and driving.  There are online tools for your Internet savvy teen to browse articles and online quizzes to help educate your child on safety guidelines on the road.

Many auto insurance companies also offer online programs for teens.  USAA Auto Insurance explains to your student how to buy a car as well as how to handle distractions while driving.  State Farm has launched a unique campaign called “Not Now, I’m Driving” (NNID) which has teen-friendly YouTube videos and messages from famous actors sending the message about the importance of never texting while driving.  Allstate and Geico also have programs geared towards making your teen a safer driver which will hopefully save lives and as a nice perk, hopefully facilitate lower auto insurance rates for you over time.

According to their website, Progressive Auto Insurance has been named one of G.I. Jobs Magazine’s Top 100 Military Friendly Employers.  This is huge recognition for the auto insurance company that works hard to ensure their military employers are well taken care of.

Active-duty Reservists who are employed by Progressive receive 100% differential pay and their health insurance remains in effect while they are on duty.  Chris Humlicek, Progressive’s military recruitment director, says they value the experience of military veterans and recruit at military job boards, job fairs, and in military publications.  They find that veterans do very well at Progressive because they’re able to adapt to changes, understand objectives and lead teams.  It’s great to see that major, successful companies are doing the right thing to show military men and women the respect they deserve.

G.I. Jobs Magazine ranks 100 companies every year on criteria, including military hiring practices, benefits, pay policies, veteran training programs, and military recruitment programs.  They compile the list from over 5000 entrants, and only companies with over $500 million in revenue were able to compete.

Progressive Auto Insurance has been named by CIO Magazine to its 2010 CIO 100 this week according to the article on Powernewsnetwork.com by Magan Salano.  This is the second year in a row that Progressive has received this award.  The CIO Awards give this honor to 100 companies that use innovative technology to enhance their business.

Progressive currently uses Microsoft NET with their company’s systems.  This type of technology is used by Progressive to provide an infrastructure that enables easy expansion for their products and services.  Ray Voelker, Progressive’s Chief Information Officer says their goal is to provide their customers with access to a large range of products, including the ones developed by other services.

This type of recognition lends to the success of Progressive.  They were one of the first auto insurers that offered to compare auto insurance quotes for the customer, and they continue to be very successful.  They are one of the nation’s largest auto insurance groups, and they are the largest seller of motorcycle policies and are a leader in commercial auto insurance based on their policies written.

In these tough times, drivers are looking for any type of discount they can on their auto insurance rates.  Progressive Auto Insurance is happy to offer discounts whenever they can and their MyRate Discount program proves this.

Progressive’s MyRate discount offers savings based on how much, how, and when they drive their car.  With the newest version of MyRate, now offered with Minnesota auto insurance, customers can start saving in as little as 30 days, up to 30%.  Progressive now gets data for only 6 months to determine a customer’s auto insurance rate.  Once drivers sign up for the MyRate program they plug in a small device into their auto that measures their driving data.  After about 30 days they can let the customer know if they qualify for a discount.

Some examples of scenarios that will offer lower rates are business travelers who park their cars at the airport numerous days per week, families with an extra car they rarely drive, or safe drivers who rarely slam on the brakes.  Progressive may occasionally check in with MyRate customers to get another snapshot of driving habits to ensure nothing has changed, but if the safe driving habits continue so do the great discounts.

According to the press release “Progressive Launches Industry’s First Android App for Car Insurance” from Business Wire, Progressive Auto Insurance has a phone application for the Google Android (TM) operating program.  Android happens to be the fastest growing smart phone out there according to data from comScore, Inc.

Matt Lehman, Progressive’s Web experience director says they have seen a 30% increase in visits to their Mobile Website by Android owners over the last 4 months.  They have aimed to simplify the mobile app experience for the Android customers.

Progressive is the first major US auto insurance company to offer an Android app for auto insurance.  They also have an iPhone Apple application as well as their Mobile Website.  You can download the free Progressive app for your Android at the Marketplace on Android phones.

Many companies are leaning towards mobile phone users since more and more consumers want to access their financial information through their phone.  Benefits of these various applications include getting car insurance quotes and purchasing a policy, making payments and updating policy information, and reporting ad tracking claims.  In is the wave of the future, and perhaps smaller auto insurance companies, such as Dairyland Insurance, will offer some sort of similar benefit for their customers.

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.