Is your insurance company out to save you money? It is if it’s Progressive Commercial Auto Insurance, which has a special offer on trailer skirts.

Owner-operators and fleets can buy a set of AeroFlex skirts by Freight Wing for $700, compared to about $1,000 retail, and they come with a seven-year warranty versus the usual three-year coverage.

Buyers don’t have to be Progressive customers, either, the company says. Progressive’s logo and a promotional message are affixed to each skirt, so the company gets some advertising in exchange for the reduced purchase price.

The skirts cut fuel use by 5% at highway speeds, as proven in independent third-party testing, say Freight Wing and Progressive. That saves hundreds of gallons of fuel over a year’s time and should quickly pay back the investment.

The skirts consist of plastic-composite panels and pole-type mountings that flex to shrug off most road-level impacts, so should last the life of a trailer. Click here to watch a video showing an AeroFlex trailer skirt easing over curbs and barriers.

Starting in March, the equipment will be available at certain Progressive Network Repair Facilities around the U.S. The idea is to keep truckers from having to venture too far from their normal route to get them installed, the insurance company says.

Shipping is included in the price but not installation. Fleet managers who use skirts say experienced people can install a set in a few hours. 

The skirts are EPA SmartWay and CARB approved.  More information is at a special website, www.progressive.com/trailerskirt, which activates this month.