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More Independent Agents Download Personal Lines Information From Progressive Than From Any Other Company

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio, Aug. 12 Progressive was recently recognized by the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) as the top carrier for personal lines policy information download to agencies. ACORD -- the insurance industry's nonprofit developer of standards for electronic information sharing -- recognized Progressive in the 2002 edition of its annual AL3 standards report. AL3 standards are focused on electronic communications of policy, claims, surety, and accounting data between insurance industry partners.

According to the report, which is based on information gathered directly from insurance companies, Progressive is downloading personal lines information to more independent agencies than any other company. The company downloads information for its policyholders' auto, watercraft, and motorcycle policies. For agents who sell Progressive, this means that they have nearly instant, fingertip access to their customers' information. Instead of having to retrieve cumbersome paperwork to view a customer's policy, agents can access the information quickly and easily through their computer. So they not only save time and effort, they also greatly reduce the amount of paperwork they have to deal with on a daily basis. Progressive offers download of policy information through about two dozen of the most popular agency management system software packages.

"Progressive invests a lot in agent technology, and we're driven to develop tools that make it easier and faster for independent agents to enhance their service capabilities," said Chris Garson, Progressive's agent business IT director. "So we're pleased to see that we ranked at the top of the AL3 standards survey. Downloading more policies to more agents than any other company tells us that independent agents are using the technology to sell more Progressive policies. And that's good for them and us."

The Progressive group of insurance companies, in business since 1937, comprises the nation's fourth largest auto insurance group and largest writer of auto insurance through independent agents. The more than 30,000 independent agencies that represent Progressive combine the power of personalized service and counsel with Progressive's trusted brand, superior 24/7 service, innovative technology and competitive rates. Authorized agents can logon to Progressive's agent-dedicated Web site, ForAgentsOnly.com (FAO), to access customer policies, state and countrywide news, and other interactive features. The group's holding company, The Progressive Corporation, is publicly traded at .