Progressive Insurance - too cold for me.

[Tourmeister]

Originally Posted by YoDoc

When I had my wreck, I found out progressive's full coverage, WITH comp/collision, did not include any help with my med bills. Luckily, my health insurance covered it, but still. I thought I was paying for everything...

The driver is not covered unless you have a Personal Injury Protection rider on the policy, which SIGNIFICANTLY ups your premium for even just small amount of coverage. Basically, they are assuming you will be covered by your health insurance... which kind of sucks if like me you have no health insurance! Your passengers will be covered and are considered to be hostile parties to the claim, even if they are your family members.

[DaveC]

I am required by law to buy insurance, I buy the most cost effective policy, mostly to protect my self from those that have decided not to act responsibly and take me out ( has happened enough times to make insurance a good idea).

After this blunder, don't you just love the internet, I believe Progressive well avoid this type of action. I hope they well, I hate shopping for insurance and my premium is lower due to time with them.

If I based my buying decisions of political point of view, I would have to live off the land and habitat in a cave wearing animal skins.

[gixxerjasen]

Why on earth would anyone buy through a 1-800 or an agent these days? You can log onto progressive.com and they make it so simple. You can check and uncheck stuff to see exactly how it affects your policy. I was surprised to find that going from a $500 to a $100 deductible on comprehensive only affected my one year policy by like $4. You can bet I lowered that deductible. No one on the phone used to ever tell me that.

Don't forget that if you have PIP coverage and health insurance, your health insurance can go after the PIP for reimbursement, so it's like paying for insurance coverage for your insurance company. Look closely and read up on what you are paying for. Make sure you are paying for what you need and not for what you don't.

[kurt]

Like chicken sandwiches, I really don't investigate their politics before buying. I seldom agree or disagree with everything a corporation contributes to. In the end it is probably a wash. Even the NRA offends me occasionally but I still pay for the parts I like.

[Buellboy]

I have Geico and assume I am paying to much but have not had the problems
you guys have discussed with Progressive. I had home and car with USAA for
33 years only to learn the only ones "They Know How To Serve" is themselves.

[MotoMarkDFW]

Originally Posted by gixxerjasen

Very interesting. I have my Progressive renewal notice sitting on my kitchen counter at home.

As do I (it renews Sept 12). I have some thought now.

[Buffalo]

I've had Progressive coverage on my bikes since 2005. Never had any problems with them on claims. In both the crashes I had the adjusters were prompt and courteous and I ended up with a settlement that was more than I expected.

[sandman]

Sad story.

That's actually bad news for me, because Progressive has had by far the lowest quotes for my bike.

They are usually higher (they have to pay for all that "Flo" advertising).

Why on earth would anyone buy through a 1-800 or an agent these days? You can log onto progressive.com and they make it so simple.

You need a better agent - 800 #'s and the internet allow people to make many mistakes.

Buy as much insurance as you can - not for yourself, but for the ones you love

[bmcdonau]

It's not the insurance company's fault that the customer doesn't know the basics of the business AND doesn't read the policy issued to them. We spend hours, days, weeks and months gathering data before purchasing a motorcycle and 5 minutes insuring it.

Some thoughts:

People use the term "full coverage" and it doesn't exist. Buying insurance is like going to Luby's, you pick and choose the coverage you want and most times have to initial declined coverages.

Minimum liability coverages aren't enough if you own anything. Today they will barely cover the cost of an average priced car.

PIP is something to consider, especially if you don't have medical insurance or it is not a good plan with low deductables and high coverages.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage is fairly cheap and can save you lots of $$$ if you have to use it.

Consider disability insurance (usually cheap from work) and long term care insurance if you ride. You may not get back to normal right away (maybe never) after your accident. You are at much higher risk for catastrophic injuries on a bike.

Educate yourself. That means do the research, don't ask your buddy and don't trust everything you read on the internet.

[Fishin33]

I happen to be an insurance agent and thought I'd chime in!

EVERY insurance company will do these same tactics as many have stated here. While you wish there would be some compassion, at the end of the day it's still a business trying to make money. A good friend of mine's wife was hit on the highway when a driver insured with Progressive swerved into her lane. Progressive stated they would cover 80% of the damages - but guess why - in the phone interview to collect details of how the accident happened, she explained the events in order. BUT - she never said she applied the brake when the other driver started coming into her lane. To Progressive this meant she's partially at fault as she could have reduced damage. Total BS! Just goes to show that no matter WHAT insurance company you have, the story is the most vital as they do record them and they do weigh heavily - so make sure you think it through before you talk with the claim examiner.

Couple other points - I primarily do commercial insurance, but run quotes with Foremost and Progressive for toys. I just wrote a policy for this same buddy (above) with Progressive even after they experienced the referenced wreck. Progressive happened to be the cheapest for his DR and I view them as being as shady as everyone else out there.

For injury - check your policy for MedPay or PIP (Personal Injury Protection). These are very similar coverages and in TX you should be offered both. Yes PIP is very expensive. MedPay is cheaper as it does not have quite as many benefits. We added 10k coverage for MedPay to his policy for $94 a year. Since he is currently without health insurance it's not a bad deal. For some quick facts about these coverages, google it. One site with decent info can be found here.

I agree with DaveC as if you want to bring politics into this - you might as well move to another country. Don't like the someone for their left wing contributions or beliefs - I bet there's 50 more companies you use that you need to boycott but aren't aware of. Same could be said for the liberals against right wing companies - but this is TX **** it!

Lastly - of course I'm going to say use an agent instead of some 800 number or website! There are many crappy agents out there that are order takers and are the WORST option for you. If they don't present you with all the options then how are you to know it was offered?? BUT - a good agent can advise you on each and every option and make sure you know what you are getting. For those of you that run into a situation where you find you aren't covered and you can prove the agent never offered you coverage - go after the agent - that's why we all carry errors & ommissions insurance.

[trainman]

I pretty much agree with fishin33, too many of you out there really don't know what you are getting when you buy insurance. Saying you want full coverage in most cases won't get it done. Buying a bike and getting full coverage for the finance company is one thing, personal protection is another, liability, fire, and theft is another, and do you have towing on your policy, who will haul the bike off when you crash or it's stolen. I would say that most of you out there should get your policy out and let someone look at it who knows what you have if your not in the insurance business. If you shop for a cheap policy then probably you have less coverage then you may need someday, if or when that day comes.

John

[nchristie]

Originally Posted by coupe930

I was the VP of claims for a number of insurance companies and I think I know what Progressive was doing. Always trying to save a little money. It is hard to believe that companies will still do things like this. It was a classic case of counting beans and not people. Maryland is a contributory law state meaning that if a driver is 1% at fault they can't collect. In practice that always backfires with a jury. I have worked contributory jurisdictions and you never push that point outside negotiations with the attorney. Juries always make a decision based on comparative negligence parsing out the blame and the award.

Stupid and dangerous decision on Progressive's part. It will cost them more than they had at risk in this case. I understand that the young lady had an underinsured coverage that is likely to be well into 6 figures, still a stupid decision. I don't think the $75,000 quoted in the story is the only money on the table. I would guess that this case didn't make it to Corporate level and was within the office or regional authority. They are sorry now.

As someone I respected once told me after a tough meeting with the President of our Company "If you don't want to pay out claims you shouldn't be in the insurance business." (There is always pressure on Claims because they pay out most of what the company brings in.)

It sounds like Progressive needs to put this on a plaque in every office.

Pat McDonald

Pat -

Thanks for the absolute best reply on any of the 5 lists I posted this (replies in general ranged from "ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES SUCK!" to "YOU"RE AN IDIOT TO SPEND MORE MONEY").

Informative, well thought out, even good grammer.

Stay safe.

Neil