Most insurance claims filed with Progressive Insurance are handled without incident. Maybe the Progressive adjuster could have processed the claim a little faster, paid a little bit more for the covered loss, or asked for fewer documents before approving the claim. But none of these things, by themselves, rise to the level of unfairness or disrespectful customer service.
On occasion, filing a claim with Progressive Insurance doesn’t turn out well. Instead of a promptly processed claim, the adjuster delays processing the claim, submits a low-ball offer to the policyholder, and/or ignores the policyholder’s communications. In these situations, Progressive could be liable for insurance bad faith and have to pay damages that add up to a lot more than the unpaid claim itself.
If you think Progressive Insurance processed one or more of your insurance claims in bad faith, you may have the right to file suit. Contact the bad faith insurance lawyers from Maison Law to review your case and decide your best course of action. Do it today, as there’s no charge for scheduling a consultation and no obligation to hire us after we examine your case.
Insurance Coverage Offered by Progressive Insurance
Progressive is a major insurer within the state of California, offering a variety of coverages. Among the most popular are its auto insurance policies, providing comprehensive, collision, and liability protections. Depending on your insurance add-ons, your monthly costs could range from roughly $150 to 180 a month for insurance premiums. Other important factors that can affect how much you pay include your:
- Age: Car insurance rates drop after you turn 25 and then remain relatively stable from your 30s to your 50s.
- Location: Certain parts of the country (and California) have different risks when it comes to car accidents and vehicle theft.
- Driving history: The fewer tickets and insurance claims you have, the lower your premiums will be. These two factors can easily raise your monthly premium by up to 50%.
- Vehicle’s value: The more expensive your car, the more you’ll pay for car insurance coverage. However, a vehicle’s overall safety can also be an important insurance underwriting consideration.
Progressive Insurance Bad Faith in California
California law requires insurance companies to act in good faith on behalf of their policyholders. This doesn’t mean always approving claims and never asking a policyholder to prove the value of their losses. But it does mean insurance companies can’t act unreasonably or unfairly when handling claims. If they do, they could be liable for bad faith. Bad faith can include actions like:
- Denying a claim without reasonable explanation.
- Presenting a policyholder with a low-ball offer without a reasonable basis.
- Failing to act promptly when processing an insurance claim.
- Not reaching a claims decision within a reasonable amount of time.
- Refusing to settle a claim despite clear liability and damages.
- Not responding to calls, emails, or other forms of contact from policyholders within a reasonable amount of time (or ignoring them altogether).
How To Tell If Progressive Insurance Is Lowballing You
Receiving a low-ball offer could be a sign of bad faith by an insurance company. Yet not all low-ball offers will rise to the level of bad faith. Even if the excessively low offer isn’t bad faith, it’s still highly undesirable.
Sometimes you’ll get a low-ball offer because Progressive Insurance adjusters are pressured to underpay claims. Other times, the adjuster assigned to your case may be overworked and simply lack the time and resources to carefully review your claim to make a more informed claims decision.
Whatever the reason, you want to avoid receiving a low-ball offer. But it’s not always easy to tell you’ve been given one because you might not fully understand the extent of your losses and the value of your claim. Here are some signs that your Progressive Insurance adjuster is low-balling you:
- You receive the offer almost immediately after submitting your claim.
- Your adjuster provides little explanation as to why Progressive is paying the settlement amount.
- The offer only addresses immediate expenses and ignores future costs, such as additional, long-term medical treatments.
- Your adjuster pressures you to accept the offer and settle your claim.
- Your adjuster downplays your injuries and claimed property damage.
Progressive Insurance’s History of Problematic Claims
Progressive Insurance has a history of violating state insurance laws and regulations. These have occurred across the United States and include:
- New York’s $48 Million Settlement: Progressive allegedly undervalued numerous vehicle claims, resulting in a class action lawsuit. Policyholders claim that Progressive used special software that underestimated what their vehicles were worth before they were sold as a total loss. The case settled for $48 million.
- Rhode Island’s $2 Million Refund: Progressive Insurance agreed to refund more than $2 million in overcharges of almost 5,000 policyholders. Progressive agreed to these terms in a consent agreement reached with the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.
- Administrative Penalty to the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation: Progressive Insurance failed to properly cancel five policyholder policies in violation of 8 V.S.A. §4223. As a result of these violations, Progressive had to pay an administrative penalty and make a contribution to a victim restitution fund.
- Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The U.S. Department of Justice investigated a claim that Progressive Insurance violated Title III of the ADA by failing to provide insurance account information to a policyholder with a disability in a format they could access. The policyholder alleged that this failure led to the cancellation of their insurance policy. Progressive Insurance settled the matter for an unspecified amount.
Suing Progressive Insurance for Bad Faith
If Progressive Insurance engages in bad faith when handling your claim, you can sue Progressive in a bad faith civil suit. To prove your case, you’ll need to show that you had a valid and enforceable contract of insurance with Progressive. You’ll also need to show that Progressive did one or more of the following:
- Failed to conduct a proper investigation into your claim within a reasonable amount of time.
- Denied your claim without reasonable justification.
- Delayed your claim without good reason.
- Breached their duty of good faith and fair dealing.
Contact a Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer From Maison Law
If you’ve had trouble with Progressive Insurance during your claims process, you’re not alone. If Progressive has been particularly misleading, unfair, unreasonable, obtuse, or disrespectful towards you, then you might have a bad faith claim against them. But keep in mind not all frustrating interactions with Progressive Insurance rise to the level of bad faith.
To know if you have a bad faith claim, you’ll need to talk to a bad faith insurance lawyer, such as one from Maison Law. We know the difference between an annoying claims adjuster and an adjuster who has engaged in bad faith. To find out which applies to your case, contact us today. We don’t charge for initial consultations, and you aren’t obligated to hire us after the consultation. You also don’t pay us a thing unless we recover money on your behalf.
