A Message From Progressive President and CEO, Glenn Renwick:
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio--Yesterday a story appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about an investigation authorized by Progressive people in August 2005. When I read that story I was appalled and, frankly, didn’t believe that it could possibly be accurate. I have since learned that the essential facts in the story are correct. What the investigators and Progressive people involved in that case did was wrong—period. I personally want to apologize to anyone who was affected by this incident.
At Progressive, we have a stated set of Core Values that we use to guide our decision making and actions. One of these Values is the Golden Rule—treat others as you would like to be treated. The actions of the investigators and Progressive people involved in this situation were incompatible with our Values and inappropriate.
For the past 70 years, we’ve built our business by building trust. Trust that we will do the right thing on behalf of our customers—every day, every time. On behalf of the 28,000 hard-working Progressive people and the more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies that choose to represent us, I want to assure all of our customers throughout the country that we remain committed to doing the right thing. We know that we were wrong in this situation and we take full responsibility for the mistakes that were made.
Obviously, we wish that what happened two years ago had not happened. And, we believe that it wouldn’t happen today with the written guidelines we put in place more than a year ago that prohibit any type of misrepresentation in conducting investigations. Those guidelines have been widely communicated internally and we now audit to ensure compliance.
We are committed to doing the right thing—always. We apologize to all involved and will work even harder going forward to maintain our customers' and the public's trust.
About Progressive
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, now celebrating its 70th year in business, is the country’s third largest auto insurance group and largest seller of motorcycle and personal watercraft policies based on premiums written, and is a market leader in commercial auto insurance.
Progressive is committed to becoming consumers’ #1 choice for auto insurance by providing competitive products and rates that meet drivers’ needs throughout their lifetimes, superior online and in-person customer service, and best-in-class, 24-hour claims service, including its concierge level of claims service available at service centers located in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
Progressive companies offer consumers choices in how to shop for, buy and manage their auto insurance policies. The Agency Business sells Progressive Drive Insurance private passenger auto insurance through more than 30,000 independent agencies. To find an agent, go to www.progressive.com. The Direct Business sells Progressive Direct® private passenger auto insurance online at www.progressive.com and by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE. Both businesses offer Progressive’s other insurance products, including Progressive Commercial, Progressive Motorcycle, Progressive Boat, etc. Each business makes independent decisions about private passenger car insurance product design and pricing. Progressive and Drive are registered trademarks.
The Common Shares of The Progressive Corporation, the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based holding company, are publicly traded at . For more information, visit www.progressive.com.
Note to Editors: The URL link to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article is http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/henry/stories/ 2007/08/21/invasion_0822.html. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)