Progressive First to Offer UFO Insurance
In Another Industry First, Auto Insurer Pulls Your Leg on April Fool's Day
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — April 1, 2004 —Forget the questions about deductibles and limits -- let's get to the real issues. If your car is damaged in an alien abduction, is it covered? And, what do those crop patterns in the shape of the Progressive logo really mean?
The Web site of the Progressive group of insurance companies, progressive.com, has taken the day off from serious business to poke a little fun at itself and the very serious subject of car insurance. In honor of April Fool's Day, that for-fun-only observance that dates back to as early as 1582 in
France, the Company's Web site will feature insurance for UFOs, urging all drivers, uh, pilots, to buy the coverage they need before leaving the solar system.
Progressive is the country's third largest auto insurer and was recently named #1 on the Business Week 50 ranking of all Standard & Poor's 500 companies.
The Company interviewed the being photographed for the Web site. Preferring to remain anonymous, it said: "We are a forward-thinking civilization that's 'out there' and, frankly, we doubted such an innovative group existed on Earth. Sure, some of our beings reported encounters with Progressive people
in the past but we passed that off as a hoax and a myth. But, we came, we saw, and now we're believers."
The being then nibbled on the antenna of one the Company's trademark Immediate Response Vehicles, walked up the ramp to the Mother Ship and, using the onboard communicator, said: "The truth may be out there.but great rates are right here!" The Mother Ship sped away; a strange series of lights was late reported in the sky above Progressive headquarters in suburban Cleveland.
The Progressive group of insurance companies, in business since 1937, ranks third in the nation for auto insurance based on premiums written and provides drivers with competitive rates and 24/7, in-person and online
service. The companies offer insurance by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE, online at progressive.com and through more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies in the U.S. Progressive was recently ranked #1 on the Business Week 50, the magazine's annual assessment of the best performing Standard & Poor's 500 companies. The
Common Shares of the Progressive Corporation, the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based holding company, are publicly traded at NYSE: PGR. More information can be found at progressive.com.
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