my sister paid @progressive insurance to defend her killer in court
TRANSCRIPT
“My Sister Paid @Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer in Court”
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OverviewO The AccidentO Automobile InsuranceO Underinsured Motorist CoverageO The LawsuitO Matt Fisher’s Tumblr BlogO Progressive ResponseO Business Problem and RepercussionsO Key StakeholdersO Arthur W. Page PrinciplesO Discussion Questions
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The AccidentO Kaitlynn Fisher (“Katie”) was killed, on June
19 2010, by Ronald Hope when his car collided with hers while driving through an intersection.
O Evidence of Fault?O Baltimore Police crash reconstruction expertO Katie’s PassengerO One written, independent eyewitness account
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Automobile InsuranceO Why settle?
O Nationwide, Hope’s insurance company, paid the full liability insurance limits ($25,000).
O Progressive, Katie’s insurance company, paid $100,000 in liability claims under Katie’s main insurance policy.
O Katie Fisher’s policyO FaultO No fault O Under-insured
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Underinsured Motorist Coverage
O The Fishers sought additional relief from Progressive under Katie’s underinsured motorist coverage
O Underinsured motorist coverage provides compensation to the injured party of a car accident when the “at-fault” party lacks sufficient insurance coverage to compensate the injured party in full for his or her injuries.
O Hope was considered an underinsured motorist
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Underinsured Motorist Coverage
O Under Maryland law, in order to receive the benefits of an underinsured motorist claim, it must be determined that the other motorist be “at-fault.”
O Maryland state law also uses contributory-negligence, meaning Katie is barred from any recovery if she is found even 1% at-fault for the accident.
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O Progressive refused to pay the Fisher family the underinsured motorist claim, citing that the 100% liability requirement was not proven.
O Progressive did attempt to settle the case with the Fisher family numerous times, but according to Matt Fisher, never offered more than 1/3 of the full $75,000.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
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The LawsuitO The Fisher family ultimately rejected
Progressive’s settlement offers in favor of proving that Ronald Hope III was 100% at fault
O The Fisher family hoped that if a court ruled in favor of Katie, they could use that ruling as leverage to force Progressive to pay the full-underinsured motorist coverage.
O Progressive Insurance intervened as an “Interested Party” and was granted an allowance “to intervene as a party Defendant.”
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The LawsuitO Progressive’s Insurance attorney, Jeffrey
Moffat, sat with the Nationwide Insurance attorney at the Defendant’s table throughout the duration of the trial.
O On August 9, 2012, the jury ruled in Katie’s favor and awarded the Fisher family $760,000 in damages, $100,000 of which to be paid by Progressive
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Matt Fisher’s Tumblr Blog (Monday August 13, 2012 10:00am EST)
O “At the trial, the guy who killed my sister was defended by Progressive’s legal team.”
O “If you are insured by Progressive, and they owe you money, they will defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy.”
O Fallout:O Post goes “viral” overnightO Public turns to twitter to express outrage
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Progressive Response (Tuesday August 14, 2012 2:00pm EST)
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Progressive Twitter Response Team
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Social Media: Round 2 (Tuesday August 14, 2012 ???)
O @ Progressive Blog response to outrage.O “To be very clear, Progressive did not serve
as the attorney for the defendant in this case. He was defended by his insurance company, Nationwide.” -Claims General Manager
O Matt Fisher’s second Tumblr post:O “I am comfortable characterizing this as a
legal defense.”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hESOXSTwQI0
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Business Problem and Repercussions
O Progressive’s decision-making process and communication strategy which caused the public’s loss of trust and goodwill.
O More than 1,000 customers claimed to have dropped Progressive as their insurer.
O Decrease in revenue and sharp decline of stock price.
17Source: http://investors.progressive.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=81824&p=irol-stockQuote
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O Social media changes the way Progressive must approach its legal, economical, and ethical decision-making process.
O Progressive legally not at fault, but social media allowed customers to interact with one another, sharing opinions and harming the company’s reputation.
Business Problem and Repercussions
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Key Stakeholders
Direct Indirect
O Matt Fisher O Fisher FamilyO Ronald Hope
IIIO ProgressiveO Shareholders
O Maryland Jurisdiction
O Customers (Current and Future)
O MediaO Competitors
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Arthur W. Page PrinciplesO Tell the Truth: Progressive’s delay in its
response and aggressive response when they finally did makes one question how truthful and transparent they are.
O Prove it with Action: Progressive’s actions proved that it cares most about following policies while disregarding the better ethical decision.
O Listen to the Customer: Progressive did not act quickly or adequately when customers started questioning its actions.
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Arthur W. Page PrinciplesO Manage for Tomorrow: Progressive did not consider that their
behavior will lead to reputational damage and potentially constrain future growth and revenue potential.
O Conduct Public Relations as if the Entire Company Depends on it: Progressive’s robotic response and the blog post stating they did their “contractual obligations” creates significant questions of the company’s corporate values and commitment to brand image.
O Realize a Company’s True Character is Expressed by its People: The actions of Progressive’s employees confirmed a company that cares more about policies than its customers.
O Remain Calm, Patient and Good-Humored: Given the emotional taxing story, Progressive alienated customers by seeming hostile and unemotional.
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Discussion QuestionsO What do you think Progressive can do to regain
trust with the consumer?
O What do you think are the long-term effects of Social Media on Progressive’s legal, moral, and economic decision-making process? What role does communication play into that strategy?
O Do you think that Progressive could have responded to the Social media outrage in a better way?
O Do you think that Progressive could have handled its interest in the lawsuit in a better way?
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Class Room ActivityThe do’s and don’ts of social media communication
O Imagine you are a communications adviser to Progressive (or one of the other insurance companies) and your boss asks you to create a social media policy handbook. Create a list of at least ten do’s and don’ts as they relate to communicating online through social media.
O Think about the take-away lessons “The Future of Digital Media” lecture has provided to those communication officers working through social media channels?