Progressive Insurance’s slippery and underhanded tactics have been profiled before.
Now comes Progressive’s latest dirty trick: offering personal injury settlements in auto accident cases before victims even get a chance to see a doctor.
How The New Strategy Works
If Progressive determines that it’s insured is at fault‚ it sends its’ adjustor to the victim’s home–typically within 48 or 72 hours of the accident. At that time‚ the adjustor will express Progressive’s sympathy and willingness to help. Then the adjustor will offer a nominal sum to settle the victim’s claims. Typically the offer is between $500 and $1,000.
If the victim won’t agree to the settlement‚ usually because they have not seen a doctor yet‚ the adjustor will then up the ante and offer the money and to pay for all medical bills within the next 30 days. Since the victim is entitled to have all medical bills paid to treat the injuries from the accident‚ without time limit‚ this is a horrible deal.
Our Personal Experience with Progressive’s Tactics
Our lawyers have seen this strategy play out on a number of occasions. The most notable was a potential client from Rancho Cucamonga who had his new BMW totalled by a Progressive Insured. The potential client went to the doctor and was experiencing pain. The next day the adjustor arrived offering $1,000. The potential client‚ thinking his pain would go away‚ agreed to the money and to Progressive covering his medical expenses for 30 days.
3 months later‚ he continued to have excruciating pain including symptoms which would indicate possible orthopedic and neurologic injuries. But he had already settled his claims.
Contact A Trustworthy Car Accident Lawyer Today
Don’t fall for this strategy. The first call you should make after being involved in a serious car accident–after calling the police–is to call our office and get trained accident attorneys working for you.
Trusting the other driver’s insurance company is the worst mistake one can make.
