Innovative Claims Payment System Earns Progressive a Spot on the InformationWeek 500

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio, Sept. 16, 2008 -An automated system that makes it faster and easier for repair shops to receive payments from Progressive earned the car insurance company a spot on the InformationWeek 500 for the ninth year in a row. The InformationWeek 500, published by InformationWeek magazine, is a list of the nation’s top 500 largest and most innovative users of information technology.

Repair shops that choose to participate in Progressive’s network use an automated system to track the progress of their repairs. When repairs are complete, the claims payment system reviews, approves and automatically transfers the payment, saving shops time by not having to manually submit an invoice and wait for a check to be cut.

“Being named to the InformationWeek 500 signals that our investment in technology and claims innovation is paying off,” said Ray Voelker, chief information officer at Progressive. “But it’s even more rewarding to know that our innovation benefits not only our customers but also the shops that choose to do business with us.”

Progressive has been reinventing the claims experience for years. In 1990, it was the first major car insurer to introduce 24 hours a day, seven days a week claims service with its Immediate Response® claims service. In 1994, Progressive introduced the Immediate Response Vehicle®, a specially marked and outfitted vehicle equipped with technology that empowers claims representatives to complete a damage estimate and write a check on the spot. In 2006, Progressive launched an interactive online claims reporting tool that allows customers to report a claim and track its status from start to finish.