Progressive Insurance has launched a new safety feature, called Accident Response, to connect policyholders with emergency or tow services.

The insurance company notes in a press release that the availability of the feature coincides with the approaching winter season when drivers are met with additional road hazards.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, 70% of U.S. roads are located in snowy areas prone to conditions that reduce vehicle maneuverability and increase the risk of a crash. More than 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy, or icy pavement each year, and nearly 76,000 in crashes during snowfall or sleet.

“With driver safety and innovation at the heart of Progressive’s offerings, Accident Response provides personal auto customers using the Progressive app with an added layer of protection,” the release says. “The optional feature within the app uses phone sensors to detect when a customer may have been in a major accident.

“If a crash is detected, Progressive will reach out to the driver to see if help is needed. The driver can then quickly and easily request emergency services or a tow truck through the app or with a live agent. If they don’t respond, and the accident appears severe, emergency services will be dispatched to the crash location. If tow or emergency services are requested, Progressive will automatically submit a claim on the customer’s behalf.”

Accident Response is an optional Progressive app feature and there is no cost to download the app or use the Accident Response feature, according to the release. Accident Response isn’t available in all situations and presently isn’t offered in California.

The cost for provided services, such as ambulance or tow, is subject to the coverage purchased under a customer’s personal auto policy.

“Progressive has always put safety at the forefront of our services, creating new innovations with the needs of our customers in mind,” said Jim Haas, Progressive personal lines telematics business leader, in the release. “Accident Response offers Progressive customers peace of mind by connecting them with the help they need after an accident and quickly starting the process to get them back on the road.”

In November, Ryan McMahon, Cambridge Mobile Telematics strategy and corporate development senior vice president, said the same components insurance companies use to assess individual risk could also be used to detect a crash. He and representatives from Auto Innovators and GM spoke during a Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit session held at the 2024 SEMA Show.

“The insurance industry started to pull us into the crash detection process to then help them facilitate an engagement with the consumer,” he said. “What’s happening is this movement, because data is available, into a world where you can be proactive versus reactive. And for the insurance company, it means significant savings. The insurers are going to continue to push in this direction because for them, time is directly money whether that’s in storage costs or rental costs.

“This crash assistance process and environment is really opening up the doors to providing relationships with customers that otherwise wouldn’t be there. And whether that’s from an insurance company, from an automaker, from another trusted brand — it now involves that customer getting through the level of complexity into something that’s much more tailored to them.”

From the perspective of Auto Innovators, Senior Vice President of Policy Hilary Cain shared that automakers are focusing on innovations in crash avoidance and post-crash care vehicle features.

A lot of the data collected by vehicles can help make consumer experiences with crashes more efficient and lead to better outcomes, she said.

Images

Featured image: Progressive YouTube video screenshot of Accident Response feature notifications