"Progressive Makes Big Claims", by Chuck Salter, November issue, page 176, submitted by Todd Mehrkens:

This article featured the auto insurance company, Progressive. After reading this article I was so convinced that Progressive is onto something great I am almost ready to cancel my own car insurance, and sign up for Progressive.

Progressive has broken a lot of the rules in the insurance business. They measure claims settlements in terms of HOURS instead of the days or weeks that it usually takes to settle an insurance claim. They have radio dispatched claims adjusters who will arrive on an accident scene with a laptop, download a claims file and write a check on the spot. Progressive is also the insurance company that advertises on TV encouraging potential customers to call them for a price quote, and they will tell you if there is another company with cheaper rates.

Their different approach to the insurance business has brought them incredible growth and profitability. While most of the industry has run at an underwriting loss the past five years, Progressive has had healthy underwriting margins of 8% and a growth rate that is six times the industry average.

One application to my work in Extension and 4-H could be summed up in this quote from the article: "Customers expected us to deliver what they were paying for  but we were spending our time putting paper into stacks." There are times that as Extension Staff we marvel at all the time that goes into moving paper and other information. Each year at County Fair time, when we get bogged down in forms, rules and other paperwork, we talk about "that county" in Minnesota that has no Premium Book rules or advance registration for their fair. Their focus is on the kids and what they are learning. What a great idea! After all, that is what we are supposed to be doing in 4-H programming.

When I talked with other people about this article, all I had to do was mention Progressive insurance, and most people could recall the TV ads promising to tell potential customers who the cheapest company is, even if it isn't Progressive. They were also impressed by the idea of rapid claims settlement and thought it made sense. The common question seemed to be just how dependable and stable is a company who seems to conduct business so radically different. The consensus of the people I talked with (including myself) is that if a trusted insurance agent would recommend Progressive, a switch would likely be made. Here again, the application to Extension work seems to be that we need to be building relationships and valuing those that we have. For it is through those relationships that work is accomplished.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 1998

Answers

Nice job of relating this to Extension. You made an excellent point about building relationships and valuing them. Often we take advantage of our current customers, and just expect them to stay with us. We really should be working to ensure that we keep them. Progressive certainly seems to be able to do that effectively.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 1999