Progressive Reaches ``Concierge Level'' of Claims Service Milestone with Opening of 50th Service Center

AKRON, Ohio--In the early 1990s, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies introduced drivers to 24/7 claims service; it’s now the industry norm. In the late 90s, work began on a “concierge level” of claims service, providing, as the name implies, an even better, more comprehensive claims service.

The concierge concept for repairable cars began by offering end-to-end claims service from a small construction trailer on a suburban Cleveland car lot six years ago. Today, Progressive announced the opening of its 50^th Service Center in Akron. From this state-of-the-art facility, and all others like it throughout the U.S., Progressive can oversee all details of the vehicle claims/repair process for customers whose cars need to be repaired after accidents.

The Service Center, which reduces the time each driver has to spend on the claims/repair process from about four days to about 15 minutes, can be used at no cost by any Progressive Direct^�or Drive^�Insurance from Progressive customer or anyone involved in a claim with these customers. Drivers who choose to use a Service Center can simply drop off the damaged vehicle and, in about 15 minutes, can leave in a rental car assured that a claims representative will handle the process from beginning to end. In addition, the repairs will be guaranteed by both Progressive and the body shop that does the repairs. Without this concierge level of claims service, drivers generally report spending four days doing everything themselves – arranging for alternate transportation, getting repair estimates, finding a shop, checking in on the repairs, etc.

The concierge concept has since been expanded to include a service to help those whose vehicles are totaled after an accident find a replacement vehicle and arrange for financing. That service, “Total Loss Concierge,” has been introduced in 26 states so far.

“Our goal is to make these time-saving services available to the majority of our customers across the country, so the opening of our 50^th Service Center for repairable cars is an exciting milestone for us,” said Angelo Frate, manager of the Akron Service Center located at 46 W. Waterloo Road.

How the Service Center Works

The customer calls Progressive to report the claim any time of the day or night and then schedules an appointment to bring the vehicle to the specially designed Service Center.
In about 15 minutes, the customer can be on his or her way in a rental car with assurance that Progressive will keep him or her informed of the status of the claim throughout the repair process.
A Progressive claims representative prepares a repair estimate and contacts an auto body shop based on its track record of providing superior service, high quality repairs and its ability to begin and complete work promptly. Both Progressive and the shop reach agreement on the cost of the repairs; the shop then transports the vehicle from the Service Center to its facility and the repair work begins.
When the work is finished, the vehicle is returned to the Service Center where representatives from both Progressive and the body shop inspect the quality of repairs.
Once satisfied with the repair quality, Progressive calls the customer and asks him or her to return to the Service Center where, together with the claims representative, the customer inspects the repairs.
The customer then leaves with a written guarantee on the repairs that both Progressive and the body shop stand behind as long as the customer owns or leases the vehicle.

While Service Centers are available for repairable cars, Total Loss Concierge, the concierge level of claims service for cars that can’t be repaired, helps find replacement cars for people whose cars are declared total losses after accidents – that is, the damaged cars would cost more to fix than they’re worth. All a driver has to do is describe the vehicle he or she wants – such as the year, make, model, price range and color – and the concierge specialist will take it from there. Both services drastically reduce the amount of time each driver has to spend repairing or replacing his or her car after a crash.