Progressive, whose executives have been negotiating with New Jersey officials for more than a year, said today the auto insurer has nailed down a deal to reenter the state.
The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based carrier said that this Monday, officials of the company will be joining Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey and Acting Banking and Insurance Commissioner Donald Bryan in Trenton to announce that Drive Insurance from Progressive and Progressive Direct had reentered the New Jersey market.
A spokesperson for the company said Progressive left the state back in the 1980s. She said Monday's announcement would detail what services will be available from the company and where agents would be located.
The carrier sells through independent agents and over the Internet.
A statement from the company said it was coming back because of recent legislative reforms.
In the past few years, the state has adopted auto insurance reforms that include:
o The nation's toughest penalties for auto insurance fraud.
o A variety of consumer protections.
o New methods for trimming the number of uninsured motorists.
o Steps to put downward pressure on rates for good drivers.
The insurance reforms of 2003 "are continuing to bear fruit," noted Richard Stokes, who represents the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America in Trenton.
However, Mr. Stokes warned that there are "dark clouds on the horizon" because the State Supreme Court ruled recently that current statutes cannot be interpreted to set a threshold of proof before non-economic pain and suffering claims can be brought under New Jersey's no-fault insurance system.
Last year, GEICO reentered the state after a 27-year absence, while Mercury General, which began selling its products after the 2003 reform bill passed, completed a year of operation in the state.
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