‘Concierge’ claims service

More than 11,300 car accidents happen in the Albany, N.Y. metropolitan area each year — that’s about 215 a week. Many claims cause less than $2,000 in damage but, according to Progressive Insurance, the time wasted and inconvenience caused are anything but minor.

About 40 percent of drivers involved in crashes report spending four or more days managing the process of getting their vehicles repaired. This means Albany drivers in just one week collectively lose more than 10,500 hours of time – that’s about three and a half years – managing the claims/repair process as a result of even minor accidents.

That’s about to change.

Progressive Direct and Drive Insurance from Progressive have opened their first Albany-area Service Center. Drivers can now choose to receive a “concierge” level of claims service that reduces the time each driver spends on the claims/repair process from four days to about 15 minutes. The service is not limited to just Progressive customers – it’s also available to anyone involved in a claim handled by Progressive.

A driver simply drops off the damaged vehicle at the service center and, in about 15 minutes, can leave in a rental car knowing that a claims representative will handle the entire process and that the repairs will be guaranteed. Otherwise, drivers have to spend several days arranging for alternate transportation, getting repair estimates, finding a shop, getting updates and inspecting the repairs.

“By using a service that handles the claims/repair process from start to finish, people can save time and spend it the way they want to,” says Scott Hickok, Colonie manager

The service center in Colonie marks the 37th Progressive Service Center in the U.S. and the first in the Albany area.

Topics Claims