Opinions Needed On Progressive Insurance Co.

[ray66v]

In 30 years of auto body repair, I can say with out a doubt, Progressive is the worst insurance Co. I ever dealt with. They were so bad, we finally had to refuse to do any of their work.

Progressive is like the "Walmart" of auto insurance co's. They are very good at convincing their customers they are great.

Also, do some homework on the owner, and the organizations he donates millions to. You may find yourself very opposed.

There is a lot more to an insurance co. than price. Ask the body shop you deal with, who is good in your area.

 

[WarrenF]

In 30 years of auto body repair, I can say with out a doubt, Progressive is the worst insurance Co. I ever dealt with. They were so bad, we finally had to refuse to do any of their work.

Progressive is like the "Walmart" of auto insurance co's. They are very good at convincing their customers they are great.

Also, do some homework on the owner, and the organizations he donates millions to. You may find yourself very opposed.

There is a lot more to an insurance co. than price. Ask the body shop you deal with, who is good in your area.

I didn't want to speak for someone else, but some relatives of mine have been in the body business/towing business for over 30 years. Their thoughts on Progressive was this. If we get a car in our bull pen that is insured by Progressive, we will make sure and hammer them with any and every charge we can think of. It will make up for all the **** we have taken from Progressive in the past.

They did finally get to the point, after turning the screws on the company with one of their customers cars, that they said NO MORE PROGRESSIVE work.

Trust me folks, you may think your getting a good deal, but as the previous poster said.....you might check with some of those who know. Also if you need work done on your car or truck.....you might be surprised at all the shortcuts DEMANDED by the Progressive adjuster.

 

[dfkrug]

Interesting experiences at the body shops. I never heard that before.

I have used Progressive for many years for M/C ins....it was only $75/y
for liability-only for many years. I never had a claim, so I can not report
on that first hand. I have now moved to Progressive for our truck and 2
cars. No claims in the 2 y I have used them.

Years ago, my mom got into an accident with a guy who had Progressive
ins....the adjuster wrote her a check for the damage at the accident site,
within an hour or two of it happening. Back then (mid 90s) you would see
Ford Exploders driving all around with "Progressive" written on the side.
These are the field claims guys driving around to accidents. I don't see
them anymore, so I imagine they have drive-in claims like other big
insurers.

The name of the company is a salute to the founders' left wing sympathies.
I don't care about that....it is just business to me.

 

[Bird]

Back then (mid 90s) you would see
Ford Exploders driving all around with "Progressive" written on the side.
These are the field claims guys driving around to accidents. I don't see
them anymore,

I still see them around here, but I just assumed they were insurance salesmen or agents.

 

[ray66v]

Years ago, my mom got into an accident with a guy who had Progressive
ins....the adjuster wrote her a check for the damage at the accident site,
within an hour or two of it happening.

This was nothing more than a show. The overwhelming majority of the time the estimate, and check, were meaningless, because there was a big discrepancy between the damage, and what they paid.

Most companies have gone to a direct repair program. This includes Progressive. Basically, they select a shop and use pressure to steer all the work in that area to this shop. This causes a conflict of interest for the shop. Because, they cannot just worry about taking care of their customer. They now have a bigger customer they have to take care of, the insurance co.

Usually, the price a shop pays for "making a deal with the devil" includes cutting profits, and guaranteeing to provide a level of volume, that makes the shop dependent on this deal to stay in business. Then, they slowly tighten the screws knowing you can't say no, because they are 85%, or even more, of your business.

Meanwhile the shop who does not "get with the program" sees their business disappearing, because most customers are afraid to stand up against the insurance co's, and demand they be able to have their car repaired where they want.

The last I heard, Progressive has taken it one step further with their "concierge service". You drop your car off at a Progressive location, and they call one of these shop's to pick it up. The customer does not even know where the car was repaired, because they pick it up, where they dropped it off. The shop cannot develop any customer relations, or increase their customer base, because they have no contact with them what so ever. If your one of these shops, they now have total control of your business.

One insurer even owns their own body shops now.

If you think the money being saved is going to you, think again. auto Insurance company profits hit record levels almost every year.

Insurance Co.'s have all gotten very good at giving you a wonderful impression of them, and that they care so much about you. They have made billions in profits, and often use the best marketing companies in the world to keep the majority of their customer's fat, dumb, and happy. While, antitrust exemptions, and political lobbying, afford them the opportunity to do business in ways that would not be allowed in any other industry.

I only give this information to those who want it, If you think Progressive is great, I am not interested in hearing about it.

If you deal with a truly independent shop, one you trust, and one that takes care of YOU. Support them, by insisting on having your car repaired there. Otherwise, they will soon be extinct.

 

[Bird]

As with many things, it's not entirely one sided. Many years ago, insurance companies didn't have their own adjusters; they required you to get 3 estimates from different repair facilities, and if you didn't agree to the lowest estimate, you had a fight on your hands. As you might expect, someone always finds a way around the problem. I once went to a Chevrolet dealership for an estimate, which they promptly wrote up. When I told the guy I had to get 2 more estimates, he said that was no problem; he'd give them to me. He had the forms from 2 other local dealerships, and said they also had his forms, so he wrote up estimates from the other 2 dealerships. Naturally the one from his dealership was slightly lower. Now I consider that to be dishonest, so I did not use any of those estimates, nor did I ever do any business with that dealership.

Maybe I've just been lucky. The last time I had a claim on my own insurance was November, 1997, when another car hit a basketball sized chunk of concrete that had fallen off a dump truck, and launched that concrete right at the front of my car on I-30 in Arkansas. The concrete went under my car and did over $2,800 worth of damage. I called my insurance company, told the lady that I was not familiar with any shop in the area, and asked if she had a recommendation. She named more than one, saying if I went to one of those shops, they (Mid-Century Insurance company) would just use the shop's estimate and they didn't need to send another adjuster. So I used one of their shops that I knew nothing about, they did an excellent job, and it didn't cost me a nickel.

In March, 2005, my daughter was driving my pickup when a neighbor backed out of this driveway into the side of it. I knew nothing about any body shops in the area, but the local Ford dealer had been servicing my vehicles, so that's where I went and the neighbor's Kemper Insurance took care of it.

Then in July, 2005, I stopped at a stop sign on a downhill slope in a light rain, and a young lady slid into the back of my pickup. Her Travelers Indemnity Insurance did send an adjuster to the house, and he wrote up an estimate less than the Ford dealer's, but I had the dealer do the job, they did a good job, and I don't know how they settled, but it didn't cost me a nickel.

And now I have AAA insurance, best premiums I've found, and I have no idea if they'll be any good if or when I ever have a claim.

 

[kenmac]

My insurance company has what they call pro shops for body damage, glass replacment, etc, If you use one of their shops they say that the work is warrantied as long as you own the vehicle. If you choose to use another shop & something goes wrong , You are on your own to take care of the issues

 

[kenmac]

Years ago, my mom got into an accident with a guy who had Progressive
ins....the adjuster wrote her a check for the damage at the accident site,
within an hour or two of it happening. Back then (mid 90s) you would see
Ford Exploders driving all around with "Progressive" written on the side.
These are the field claims guys driving around to accidents. I don't see
them anymore, so I imagine they have drive-in claims like other big
insurers.

.

That's because now days. People want more than just their auto repaired. They hire one of those TV. lawyers to after the insurance company for all they can get

 

[Dennisfly]

Checkout this thread:

Car insurance "My Rate" ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page)

Sorry, I don't know how to hyperlink!

 

[ray66v]

My insurance company has what they call pro shops for body damage, glass replacment,

Pro shops, Blue ribbon shops, preferred shops, Service first shops, Service select, etc, are all another name for direct repair.

Most insurance co's will guarantee a repair, regardless of who does the work. I have had plenty of insurance co's pay me to rework previous repairs, that were done by another shop.

Most reputable shops will guarantee their work, as long as you own your car anyway.