Progressive Insurance Draws Ire From Twitter, Facebook

By Cynthia Herbert :: 2:16 AM

Auto insurance company Progressive has raised hackles on social media today for the way they handled the case of one of their customers who died in an auto accident in 2010.

Comedian Matt Fisher posted this account of his sister’s fatal accident on his Tumblr blog early on Monday, and the news spread like wildfire. Fisher was angry that the insurer denied his sister’s policy claim, and then used its own attorney to bolster the case of the other side. It’s a circuitous story, but Fisher lays it out well.

Progressive is fanning the flames by copy-and-pasting the same boilerplate legal response to every direct @ message they receive on their Twitter account. Through the use of Tweet lengthening service TwitLonger, Progressive posts, “This is a tragic case, and our sympathies go out to Mr. Fisher and his family for the pain they’ve had to endure. We fully investigated this claim and relevant background, and feel we properly handled the claim within our contractual obligations. Again, this is a tragic situation, and we’re sorry for everything Mr. Fisher and his family have gone through.”

On Progressive’s Facebook page, angry comments from customers, including from those who have recently cancelled their insurance with the company, flooded the page on Monday night. Below, is one of the images posted to Progressive’s Facebook page.