Online self-service by auto policyholders is designed
to augment, not replace, agent's role
By Dave Willis
"Almost half of our customers are registered on the site. Forty percent of the agency-based customers--and a much higher percentage of the direct customers--are registered."
--Bob Williams, Agency Group President, Progressive Corporation
When other carriers struggled--or simply quit trying--to write personal auto insurance at a profit, Progressive Corporation seemed to make it work. Today, as the industry seeks to capitalize on Internet technology to sell and service insurance policies, Progressive has built a three-pronged Web presence it believes delivers real efficiencies for the company, the independent insurance agents who represent it, and their clients.
Bob Williams, Progressive Corp.'s agency group president, says, "We're using Internet technology to make it easier and more efficient for independent agents to sell and service their Progressive policies. We're working to help consumers find an agent or get a Progressive quote. And we're using the Internet to give customers information about--and more control over--their auto insurance. It's really those three categories."
Moving online
Progressive, which writes about 70% of its business through independent agents and brokers, first ventured online in 1995 with the launch of www.progressive.com. The site was established to complement the carrier's independent agency and telephone-based presence. Today, shoppers can go there, enter a ZIP code and, as Williams says, "get a quote, and get the names of four or five independent agents near the ZIP code." The process parallels Progressive's toll-free number, where reps will either quote or point clients to independent agents in a program called ProLeads. Agents follow up with the clients, quote and, it is hoped, write the business--either with Progressive or another carrier--then report back on the lead.
In 1996, Progressive unveiled www.ForAgentsOnly.com (FAO--a site that, since 2000, has allowed independent agents to transact business on behalf of their customers). In 1997, Progressive began offering real-time, online sales of auto insurance through its initial Web site. And the following year, it introduced online customer self-service at www.personal.progressive.com.
Agents, consumers making use
Progressive says its Web presence has brought positive response. FAO, for one, has seen dramatic growth, particularly in the past year. The site allows agents to do online endorsements, access their customers' policies, get claims information, access commission statements, and review a series of personalized production or management reports for their agencies. "The usage rate this year alone went from 28% to about 63% of endorsements done online. At this point, close to two-thirds of the endorsements that agents submit to Progressive they transact online via ForAgentsOnly," Bob says. "They input information, it's processed, once and done, and out of the picture."
Progressive says its customer self-service site also has been well received. "Almost half of our customers are registered on the site," Bob says. "Forty percent of the agency-based customers--and a much higher percentage of the direct customers--are registered.
"The most common usage at the site, it seems, is for customers to go in and do 'what-ifs,'" Bob explains. "They want to know, 'If I trade in my Ford Probe for a Mitsubishi Montero, what will happen with my premium?' Or they'll say, 'If I change my deductible, what happens?' So we get a lot of activity there.
"The second most popular item is just making a payment," he says. Close to a million dollars flow through the site every week. "That's both agent and direct business, but it's a lot of transactions being handled directly by customers, instead of dropping a payment off at an agent or calling us up," he adds.
Not all jump at customer self-service
Some agents are happy to let customers perform these transactions. Others have concerns ranging from E&O worries to simply losing touch with clients. "I think there's a natural reluctance," Williams says. "Some agents aren't sure they want their customer going to personal.progressive.com and lowering their limits of liability, or things like that. I understand that." He notes that clients have access to Progressive's 24/7 policy services center by phone and can call in and alter coverages there.
"They'll contact us during off hours, when the agent's office is closed, and we'll process transactions requested. What's important is, we ensure there's adequate notification to the agents, so to the extent that there is concern on their part, they can address it directly with the customer," Williams says. Each day, the carrier downloads, directly to the agent's management system, a report of all transactions performed on behalf of the agent's customers. "I can't recall a single incident of an agent facing an E&O exposure because their customer called us or used personal.progressive.com to make a change to their policy," he adds.
Service is another sensitive area. "Many agents believe a great deal of the value they add is the servicing component they provide. We agree with that," Williams says. Progressive's online self-service is meant to augment--not replace--what an independent agent does, he notes. And a recent Progressive survey shows clients value the added access.
In the survey of customers who bought Progressive policies through independent agents, nearly half would make an address change or check payment status on a secure Web site. More than one-third said they'd add or change vehicles or drivers or request replacement ID cards or copies of their policies online.
Extra hands for one agency
Wendy Beshear, principal of APC Insurance Services in Antioch, Tennessee, is one agent who sees the value of Progressive's online offerings. All of her clients with Web access are registered users of personal.progressive.com. "They make their payments, do their driver changes if they've got a young driver coming up," she says. "It's a huge time-saver for me. And it's a great thing for them. I have a lot of customers who seem to have nothing to do at two o'clock in the morning.
"Of course, I don't like losing the personal touch," Wendy says, echoing concern voiced by other independent agents. She addresses that when she gets her daily download from Progressive. "I print a copy and call my customers immediately. I tell them congratulations on the new vehicle, or getting married, or good luck with the divorce. I just make some sort of a comment so they know I know."
Wendy, who started in the insurance business working on the P-C side of what was primarily a life agency, runs her current shop all by herself. She says the customer self-service option from Progressive is a benefit to her clients, expanding her staff, in a way. "It gives my customers a little more sense of security" in case they can't reach her, she says.
"Also, it's nice because it takes some of the E&O burden out," she says. "Things like deleting vehicles, changing driver status from rated to exclude. They start looking at cars, then forget to call the change in. They're minor things, but if the customers are online doing it themselves, it makes my E&O exposure just a little lower."
While customer self-service has helped Wendy's business, it hasn't gained the traction nationwide that FAO has. "The Internet has been far more powerful, from my perspective, with agents," Bob says. "They get to service their customers like they want to, immediately, in an efficient manner."
Building on what works
Progressive is building on that popularity as it seeks to expand its online offerings. One element is stronger linking and communication with agency systems. "We're working on getting closer ties to agency management systems," Williams says. "Right now, agents go into our site and operate from there. We download from our system into their agency management system, but we'd like to create further links along the line where it's easier to talk or flow between systems."
Progressive says it also is working through issues around authentication and confirmation of E-signatures, as well as more robust online processing, covering all products, not just auto. Among its other priorities for this year are improving online endorsement functionality, so agents can process all online and delivery of policy documents electronically for those who prefer it. Also, Progressive is working toward electronic delivery of bills, greater use of pre-filled forms, and more.
The company plans to let customers personalize personal.progressive.com, giving preferences on content, communication and transactions. It also wants to expand online document access beyond the declarations pages and policy contracts now available. The thought is that instead of having a file cabinet folder with all your auto insurance paper work, it's all online--that is, if you want it that way, the company says.
Broader agent acceptance and support of personal.progressive.com is another top priority. "Some agents are still reluctant to make use of it," Williams says. To help boost usage, Progressive set up a way for agents to link from their Web site right to personal.progressive. "When a customer comes from the agent's Web site, they'll get a page customized with the name of the agency, address and contact information, and a link back," he notes.
"Part of our burden is just to get out there and sell the concept," Williams adds. "During the day, it's great that agents are available to service their customers. But after hours, let's give customers access to their policy, so they can make payments or routine changes. That will allow us both to operate more efficiently."
And in the end, that--agents and companies being more efficient--is the goal. *
For more information:
Progressive Corporation
Web site: www.progressive.com