Complaint Review: Progressive Insurance - Macon Georgia

Back in 1999 I had my very first car accident. I was insured by Progressive (I chose them because they were CHEAP and advertised 24/7). I was driving a car that was only 2 years old. I live in Ohio, but the accident was in Kentucky. I was getting ready to turn left onto a residential street, rolled about a foot, then realized that there was a bus at a bus stop, and there wasn't room for me to turn, so I stopped and waited. The buses back end was about 3 feet into traffic and at that same moment, a woman traveling the opposite direction as me swerved to miss the bus (I guess she didn't see it until the last second) and plowed right into me, head on. It spun my car around 1 1/2 times. The front end was smashed, the air bags deployed, all that fun stuff. Both cars were towed to a shop. Because Kentucky is a "no fault" state, nobody was cited for the accident, a police report was made up and we went on our way. Well, I went home and called the insurance company (like you're supposed to do). They said they would send an adjuster out the next day to check out the damage. I thought all was well...until a half hour later. The Claims gal calls me back and says that my policy had been cancelled!!! I was shocked and told her that it absolutely was NOT cancelled! She said it was, because they had received my payment a DAY LATE! I asked her "isn't there a grace period for payments?" She said yes, but that the payment was received a day AFTER the grace period. There is no way that could have happened, because I sent my payment in one day INTO the 10 day grace period! She insisted it was cancelled and that was that. I told her I wanted to speak with her supervisor, who told me the same thing. I asked the supervisor if they had received my payment, she said yes. I asked if they had cashed my check, she said yes. I asked HOW was the policy cancelled if you CASHED THE CHECK?? She said the check was applied to money that was OWED to Progressive between the last payment to this one. I then asked WHERE the rest of my money was, if they were pro-rating the monthly premium and keeping what they THOUGHT was due. She said she wasn't sure, but would check on it and "get back to me." There is no WAY I was going to stand for this. I spoke to my husband about it and we decided to retain a lawyer. He said that this was not the first time he's heard of Progressive doing this, and it was there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that the REAL reason Progressive said my policy was cancelled was because they didn't want to pay the claim. Meanwhile, the lady who hit me actually CALLED me a week later and said that I owed HER money for her car that was totaled! I told her she was crazy! She hit me! She said "Noooo, you pulled out in front of me!" I was on the floor...if you saw the damage to my car, it was all in front...straight on - there was NO damage to the side - where it would be if indeed I had hit HER! She didn't care, she said she had called Progressive saying I had pulled in front of her and they told her my insurance was cancelled, that's why she was calling me. I gave her my lawyers number and told her not to call me anymore. To make an even longer story short, it took us over a YEAR to take Progressive to court (15 months actually) but in the end we won. In those 15 months, I still needed to have my car fixed so I could drive it! So I had to pay over $8000 out of my own pocket to have it fixed! Lucky for me, Progressive had to pay me all that back, plus punitive damages. Now, you would think that's the end to it...oh nooooo....apparently this crazy woman had been calling Progressive relentlessly for the 15 months leading up to the court date. I'm really surprised she didn't end up in court that day to watch. Anyway, when Progressive finally paid me for the claim, the PAID FOR HER CAR TOO!!! I couldn't understand it, since Kentucky was a NO FAULT state, which means each person takes care of their own car. I'm sure they just paid her off to shut her up...but because "money was paid out on my behalf", it went against my CLEAN driving record as an "at fault" accident!!! I couldn't find decent car insurance rates for years after that...now is that fair? I even contacted the Attorney Generals office and they said basically Progressive paid out money against my policy to this woman and therefore I was automatically "at fault". Can you believe that crap? The accident didn't come off my record FOR FIVE YEARS! I'm finally enjoying normal clean-record driving rates, and telling EVERYBODY I can NOT to choose Progressive. You may recall their little slogan... "Not what you'd expect from a car insurance company". I quoted that in court and said "No kidding...I expect a car insurance company to PAY a claim!" Consider yourself warned...

In answer to the misguided comment below, yes I struck the young man, and NO I am not at fault. When someone in motion fails to observe the most basic traffic rules and maneuvers into the path of your vehicle you are NOT automatically at fault. Examples are failing to look when exiting a driveway or intersection, and failing to look or signal on a bicycle and making an abrupt turn into the path of oncoming vehicles. The first couple of times I called Progressive I didn't get anywhere so I called the office of Commissioner of insurance. An insurance company has the obligation to fully investigate a claim before paying out money on your behalf. When I finally talked to the person who handled my claim, I was informed that a "Nuisance offer" was made and paid out. The classification was changed to a "Not at fault" accident, and my rate adjusted accordingly. My advice to anyone is to talk to your local insurance commission and get the facts, then follow up with your insurance company. Communication is key.

If you did, you are at least partially responsible. Example - if someone stops at a green light and you rear end them, YOU are responsible. You probably thought the other person would be, right? Wrong. You weren't keeping a safe distance to stop.

If you did, you are at least partially responsible. Example - if someone stops at a green light and you rear end them, YOU are responsible. You probably thought the other person would be, right? Wrong. You weren't keeping a safe distance to stop.