by DivineAngel00 » Tue Oct 16, 2012 04:47 am
Hi,
I have asked a couple of questions already with respect to this matter so thank you in advance for your great advice and patience.
I received a total loss settlement offer from Progressive on 10/5/12 (via email) for an accident that was 100% other parties fault (liability has been accepted by their insurance co) which Progressive (my insurance) are subrogating.
The offer was very low (about $4k below what I had expected and the NADA valuation). So I replied on 10/8/12 (via email) with a counter offer and detailed analysis of why I thought it was too low (comps used were not like my car). I used the exact same analysis that Mitchell's had but used more similar comps and explained why they were more like my car. I also included things like pro rata refund for all of the warranties I had out on the car. I asked that they respond as soon as possible.
On 10/9/12 I got a call from rental car company that Progressive had called that morning and cancelled my rental car (3 days from their settlement offer). I had not heard from my claim rep so tried calling him, emailing him, left a voice message - no response.
So I called my PI attorney who said he would write to them which he did that day. I am not sure but I think this has done more harm than good. In the letter he said that they were not acting in good faith to have cancelled my rental car without at least responding to my counter offer. He asked that they extend the rental and respond to the counter offer by 10/12/12. They did not. They have also not sent any check for their original offer amount. My attorney's office called the claim rep several times on Friday and again today, no response. So he sent another letter today expressing surprise and concern about their lack of good faith and asked that they respond ASAP. We will see if they do.
I am frustrated I need to get this settled so that I can move on and get a new vehicle. I am not desperate enough to accept their lowball offer though, I can rent a car in the meantime. Also now that my attorney is involved I cannot speak to anyone at Progressive directly.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? Any ideas on why they are just ignoring us?
I have asked a couple of questions already with respect to this matter so thank you in advance for your great advice and patience.
I received a total loss settlement offer from Progressive on 10/5/12 (via email) for an accident that was 100% other parties fault (liability has been accepted by their insurance co) which Progressive (my insurance) are subrogating.
The offer was very low (about $4k below what I had expected and the NADA valuation). So I replied on 10/8/12 (via email) with a counter offer and detailed analysis of why I thought it was too low (comps used were not like my car). I used the exact same analysis that Mitchell's had but used more similar comps and explained why they were more like my car. I also included things like pro rata refund for all of the warranties I had out on the car. I asked that they respond as soon as possible.
On 10/9/12 I got a call from rental car company that Progressive had called that morning and cancelled my rental car (3 days from their settlement offer). I had not heard from my claim rep so tried calling him, emailing him, left a voice message - no response.
So I called my PI attorney who said he would write to them which he did that day. I am not sure but I think this has done more harm than good. In the letter he said that they were not acting in good faith to have cancelled my rental car without at least responding to my counter offer. He asked that they extend the rental and respond to the counter offer by 10/12/12. They did not. They have also not sent any check for their original offer amount. My attorney's office called the claim rep several times on Friday and again today, no response. So he sent another letter today expressing surprise and concern about their lack of good faith and asked that they respond ASAP. We will see if they do.
I am frustrated I need to get this settled so that I can move on and get a new vehicle. I am not desperate enough to accept their lowball offer though, I can rent a car in the meantime. Also now that my attorney is involved I cannot speak to anyone at Progressive directly.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? Any ideas on why they are just ignoring us?
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:47 pm Post Subject:
I also included things like pro rata refund for all of the warranties I had out on the car.
Just FYI, these can usually be cancelled for a partial refund but only if no claims have been filed.
asked that they extend the rental and respond to the counter offer by 10/12/12
If they can show that they made a "good faith" offer then they probably won't extend the rental, even if they change their offer. That is, they could argue that their initial offer was correct, and therefor the rental should stop, even if they ended up offering you a million dollars later just to settle the claim.
So he sent another letter today expressing surprise and concern about their lack of good faith and asked that they respond ASAP
I'd say "good faith" is an incorrect term. They offered what they feel is fair and even sent out the payment. They really have done nothing wrong at this point. I'd say not returning a call is unprofessional at most in this situation. If your attorney is not indication his involvement in the property damage claim then the adjuster should not be speaking with you about it any longer. I'd not return your call either. The adjuster should be dealing with one person... not trying to address with two different people. But yes, the adjuster should respond, if for nothing else to say that their offer has not changed.
You can always pick up the phone and speak to that person's supervisor. If they don't return your call, speak to the supervisors supervisor. But they may take the position now that they can't speak to you as your attorney appears to be handling the property damage portion of your claim.
Also now that my attorney is involved I cannot speak to anyone at Progressive directly.
Yup... and if your attorney is involved, don't expect really anything to happen and certainly not to happen quickly. They attorney is not going to make one dime on your property damage claim so he's going to do as little as possible. He will probably just send a few letters, wait weeks, and then tell you that they did nothing.
Any ideas on why they are just ignoring us?
I can tell you but you are not going to like to any more then the info above. It's because the adjuster has 150 more claims to work and it's easy to think he/she has already addressed your claim and it's done. If the adjuster has one total loss claim then they probably handle a lot of them. Debating the value of vehicles happens all of the time. Those claims take a _lot_ of time. If an adjuster spent hours on each one of those claims, they would never get much done. It should not be this way. But that is how insurance companies offer lower rates, they hire less then enough adjusters and then over-load them with work. You are not to blame and someone should be returning your phone calls or responding to letters. I'm just being honest and telling you the probable reason why they are not responding.
I'd pick up the phone and move up the chain as needed in order to get a response.
Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 02:40 am Post Subject:
Thanks for the response. I agree when I hear what you say but obviously not any less frustrated.
I did want to clarify though that no they have not sent a check yet. Also, on the warranties I did check which ones were able to be cancelled and didn't include those.
The claims rep (adjuster has been out of the picture since he finished his inspection of the car) did call my attorney back today and said that he had received the letter but only today forwarded it to Mitchell's for them to review and would let us know when hears back from them. I'm interested to see their response and will probably have additional questions about it.
Thanks again for all of your great advice!
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