Progressive Claims Representatives Still Hard At Work, Three Out Of Four Hurricane-Related Claims Settled
The Quick Tally:
Four Hurricanes In Less Than Eight Weeks +
1,179 Claims Representatives Deployed +
More Than 1,000 Round Trip Airline Tickets +
2,000 Nights in Hotel Rooms =
Three Out of Four Hurricane Claims Already Settled By Country's Third Largest Auto Insurer
TAMPA, Fla — October 7, 2004 — When Dennis Schwatka of Spokane, Wash., joined the Progressive group of insurance companies as a claims representative, little did he know he'd spend so much of the summer of 2004 in the Sunshine State. Sounds like an ideal gig, but not during the busiest hurricane season in the Gulf region in over 100 years.
Before, during and after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, Dennis found he was part of an elite fraternity of 1,179 Progressive claims representatives from all 50 states who converged on Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to help customers with vehicles damaged by strong wind, storm surge and flood waters. To date, Progressive has settled three out of every four hurricane-related claims reported.
"It's been an incredible experience," said Schwatka, who saw firsthand how powerful a hurricane could be. "I was here for Ivan and before that I never could have imagined the amount of devastation one hurricane could cause, let alone four."
Since August 10, Progressive claims representatives have traversed the affected Southeastern states, estimating damage to cars, RVs, boats and personal watercraft insured with Progressive and damaged in one-or more-of the four storms. In some cases, handling the claims was routine: The customer called in the claim and it was assigned to the local claims office or one of several mobile claims handling areas.
In other cases, handling them was anything but routine, such as when claims representatives went boat-to-boat in marinas and storage yards to check hull identification numbers to determine if the boat belonged to a Progressive customer, or walked through RV parks, checking Vehicle Identification Numbers on overturned RVs.
"I've never been able to stand on the ground and see an RV VIN before, but when 100 mph winds knock them on their sides, that's what you have to do," said Schwatka.
In many instances, Progressive contacted customers to let them know their vehicle had been located and work on the claim had begun even before the customer had seen the damaged vehicle.
After Hurricane Charley, Progressive set up a Hurricane Command Center in Tampa. There, more than 100 claims representatives took calls, got to work on the claims right away and helped answer customers' questions. As Hurricane Ivan approached and threatened Tampa, Progressive flew nearly 100 of the Command Center people out of Tampa to safe harbor in Progressive's headquarter city, Mayfield Village, Ohio, where they remained through Ivan and Jeanne.
"The hurricanes have tested the strength of our catastrophe response planning and highlighted the indomitable Progressive spirit," said Juan Andrade, claims general manager, Progressive. "While nearly 1,200 claims representatives arrived from other states to handle hurricane claims, we have another 1,500 who live and work in Florida, and nearly all of them were affected by the storms in one way or another, yet everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work settling our customers' claims, hurricane related or not, quickly and efficiently. This is a true team."
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 that offer insurance directly (by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE and online at progressive.com) market their products and services through the Progressive Direct brand, while the companies that offer insurance through more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies market their products and services through the Drive Insurance from Progressive brand. Drive Insurance from Progressive, available exclusively through independent agents, is the number one writer of automobile, motorcycle, RV and personal watercraft insurance through independent agents and a leading agency writer of boat and commercial auto insurance. More information can be found at progressive.com.
###
