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Progressive Caught Red-Handed

Sometimes it seems like insurance companies will do anything to keep from paying their clients.

Progressive Auto Insurance Company was caught red-handed using unethical tactics to investigate a claim made by their clients. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, two private investigators joined the Southside Christian Fellowship Church hoping to dig up dirt on two church members. The investigators went so far as to attend private support sessions where church members discussed abortions, sexual orientation issues, drug addictions, and other secrets. Not stopping there, the investigators even tape-recorded some of the sessions!

The case being investigated was a 2004 traffic accident in which the two church members were struck by a negligent driver. They eventually recovered from the driver’s insurance company, Allstate, but because the driver’s coverage only partially compensated the couple for their injuries, they sought to recover from progressive under their own underinsured motorist policy.

The church and the couple have since received an apology from Progressive CEO Glenn Renwick, but are still pursuing a lawsuit against Progressive for fraud, invasion of privacy, and several other issues.

As CNN’s Anderson Cooper reported back in February, it isn’t uncommon for insurance companies to use these sorts of tactics to prevent paying. The other common practice is the “walk-away” settlement.

In small dollar value cases, it is sometimes difficult to get a lawyer to represent you. The expenses of the litigation mean that some cases just are not worth trying. The insurance companies know this. As Anderson Cooper reported, most companies will offer less than two-thirds of what your claim is worth, hoping that you will quickly settle. This saves them money because they don’t have to pay out the full claim and also don’t have to pay their own lawyers an hourly fee to litigate the case. But where does it leave you, their customer?

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you can rest assured that the insurance companies are doing whatever they can to prevent paying your claim. Before accepting any offer to settle from the insurance agent, call Hans Poppe.