---

Progressive Announces Insurance Rate Decrease

13 May 1998

Seventh Rate Decrease In 26 Months For Progressive, State's Fourth Largest Auto Insurer

          Company Cites Competitive Market, Pro-Consumer Strategies

    AUSTIN, Texas, May 12 -- Progressive, now the state's fourth
largest auto insurer, reduced its rates in Texas for the seventh time in 26
months, Willy Graves, president, Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company,
announced. The latest decrease of an average 5 percent is effective
immediately.
    The seven consecutive rate decreases taken by the company since March 1996
represent a cumulative decrease of 18 percent, or an average savings of $300
per year for Progressive's Texas policyholders.
    "Lower auto insurance rates are good for everyone and they've been made
possible by the competitive insurance market and tort reforms that Governor
Bush, Commissioner Bomer and the legislature have fostered," said Graves.
    Graves said: "The primary reason we've been able to lower our rates
consistently over time is our ability to lower our costs and pass those
savings immediately to consumers. We've reduced our general expenses
significantly in the last two years. And, our fast, fair claims service has
helped us realize significant reductions in our claims costs."
    The company's Immediate Response(R) claims service is available to
policyholders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company's claim
representatives today inspect 75 percent of all damaged vehicles within 24
hours of when the accident is reported. Before Immediate Response, the company
measured claims response in terms of days, not hours.
    Graves said: "Getting out to help policyholders right away delights them
and lowers claim costs. It also reduces the potential for fraudulent
activities. The rate flexibility available through our county mutual insurance
company allows us to quickly react to trends in our data and use accurate and
fair loss cost pricing to deliver lower rates to Texans. This combination of
great service and flexible and accurate pricing adds up to excellent value for
our customers. This is why we are growing so successfully in Texas."
    In 1997, the company's Texas business grew more than 50 percent, while the
rest of the private passenger auto insurance companies in the state grew an
average of 1.1 percent. This makes Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company
the fastest growing major auto insurer in the state, and the fourth largest.
Over the past five years, the company has sustained annualized growth of 40
percent in Texas while the rest of the industry grew 4.5 percent annually.
    Auto insurance policies from Progressive are perhaps the most widely
available in the industry. Consumers interested in becoming a Progressive
policyholder may contact one of Progressive's 2,400 Texas Independent Agents,
call 1 800 AUTO PRO(R) or visit the company's Web Site
(http://www.progressive.com).
    In business since 1937, Progressive provides consumers throughout the U.S.
and in Canada with competitively-priced automobile insurance and 24 hour, in-
person services and is the nation's largest writer of automobile insurance
through Independent Agents. The Progressive companies that write auto
insurance consistently earn the highest ratings from A.M. Best, the
independent company that rates the financial conditions of insurance
companies. The Progressive Corporation's stock is traded on the New York
Stock Exchange .

SOURCE  Progressive