How to Handle a New Mexico Progressive Truck Insurance Claim

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If you have been injured in an accident involving a large truck or 18-wheeler, you may face mounting medical bills, missed work, and a damaged or totaled vehicle. While you want to put this painful chapter behind you, insurers may complicate your recovery process by denying or underpaying your claim.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a truck accident in New Mexico, you should contact the experienced truck accident attorneys from Zinda Law Group at (800) 863-5312 today for a free consultation and to discuss filing a truck accident claim against Progressive in New Mexico. If we are not able to win your case, you will owe us nothing.

DEALING WITH PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE

Dealing with insurers after a truck accident can be a complex and difficult situation with any provider, but Progressive has gained a reputation of being particularly difficult to deal with amongst the major insurance providers. Progressive has been known to rush an adjuster to review the claim and offer a small amount of compensation, usually far less than what the claim may actually be worth. This quick, initial offer will prevent you from suing Progressive for your truck accident later to seek any further compensation.

Such offers are often made before you fully understand the extent of your injuries. You may not yet fully know the financial costs of treatment as well as the full extent of other potential damages, such as time missed from work and more personal damages, such as pain and suffering. As a result, you should contact an experienced New Mexico truck accident attorney as soon as possible after your accident.

Why Should I Contact a Lawyer Before Agreeing to Any Settlement?

If you accept a settlement offer from an insurance company like Progressive before you have discussed your case with a skilled truck accident attorney who has handled claims with them in the past, you may be accepting far less compensation than what you might be entitled to. Worse, you may generally be prohibited from pursuing a claim against Progressive for the truck accident in the future if you have already signed a settlement agreement with Progressive.

Therefore, it may be crucial that you contact a skilled New Mexico truck accident lawyer before signing any settlement or agreement. Your attorney may help guide you through the process of negotiating with an insurance company; they are also knowledgeable of how to thoroughly investigate your accident, gathering any potential evidence to support your claim. With your attorney’s help, you may be able to refuse any unfair initial offer while instead being better able to successfully negotiate with Progressive or any other insurance company to pursue the compensation you may be entitled to.

HOW DO I HANDLE PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE CLAIM REPRESENTATIVES AFTER AN ACCIDENT?

After an accident, Progressive may contact you and ask you to provide a statement about your accident. Remember, you do not have to give a statement, and it may be a good idea to avoid it. At the least, you should speak with your truck accident lawyer first before you agree to provide any statement to the insurance company or any claims adjusters.

Insurers often ask for these statements in an attempt to gather any information that may allow them to deny your claim or potentially use in disputing the liability of their insured. For example, if you accidentally take any responsibility for causing the accident or perhaps understate the severity of your injuries. If you do choose to give a statement after speaking with your attorney, there are some general tips you should take into consideration when speaking to an adjuster or other representative of an insurance company:

1. Do Not Admit Fault

You should never admit fault after an accident. If an insurer can get you to admit any fault regarding the accident, it can severely impact any potential claim against Progressive. One potential response your attorney may suggest is to inform the insurer that you choose to wait for the accident to be properly investigated to determine who may have been at fault. Insurers are often counting on you being out of sorts, emotional, or anxious during these statements, and will use anything that can be construed as an admission of fault against you.

Insurance companies may intentionally reach out to you soon after an accident; this could be an attempt to take advantage of your emotional state to obtain helpful misstatements from you. These unprepared statements of yours may help them dispute the other party’s liability for your accident or the extent of your damages. Indeed, simply mentioning that you may have been tired, stressed out, or distracted will often be used by the insurer to attempt to shift some or most of the fault to you for the accident to avoid paying out any claims you may have against Progressive.

2. Do Not Speculate

The insurer may ask you to tell them how you may think the accident may have occurred. In some cases, the insurer may attempt to pressure you into doing so, claiming you must do so in order to file a claim. However, you are not required to give any statement to the insurer, and you may decline to speculate how the accident may have occurred, as you may not be aware of all the details. By guessing at what may have occurred, you may be weakening your position, or may even be providing evidence the insurance company may use against you to claim that you may have been at fault for causing the accident rather than their insured.

3. Do Not Share Medical Information

Once again, insurers may be looking for a way to get off the hook for any compensation they may owe if they ask you about any injuries you may have suffered as a result of the accident. They are looking for any sentence or phrase that may downplay the seriousness or extent of your injuries. Some of your injuries may not be immediately apparent, and may take time to be discovered, such as some soft tissue injuries or other injuries.

The absence of you mentioning them in a statement made to the insurer may make it more difficult for you to pursue compensation for your truck accident claim against Progressive in New Mexico later. You should be careful not to share any information about injuries you have suffered, when or if you have seen a doctor, or any other medical information.

People who are truly on your side

It is important to remember that Progressive insurance adjusters seeking your statement are not acting in your best interest, but rather in the interests of their employer, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company. As such, it is their job to limit the compensation paid out by Progressive after an accident. Insurers like Progressive often count on the victim being unfamiliar with how the claims process works, and they use this knowledge to their advantage.

Insurance companies will not hesitate to use anything you may say or do to deny or limit your claim. You should remember that only your own truck accident attorney will be acting in your best interest; therefore, seriously consider contacting a skilled personal injury lawyer, such as our accident insurance claim attorneys at Zinda Law Group.

ATTEMPTS TO DEVALUE YOUR CLAIM

When making a claim against Progressive for a truck accident in New Mexico, they may attempt to avoid compensation by devaluing your claim. There are a couple of ways they may attempt to do this:

1. Disputing the Extent of Your Injuries

First, they may attempt to devalue your medical claims. Once they receive your medical bills, they often will claim that certain services and procedures were unnecessary or overpriced, and they may then attempt to use their own medical experts to provide a revised medical cost statement that they will attempt to base compensation for medical expenses on. By hiring an attorney to help you with your claim against Progressive for a truck accident, you may be able to argue that your medical provider is best able to decide what procedures and treatments are required.

2. Disputing Non-medical Damages 

Progressive may also try to convince you that you are only entitled to compensation for medical expenses and property damages. However, depending on the details of your accident, you may also be able to claim compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, and future medical costs if your injuries may require ongoing treatment. If the at-fault driver was grossly negligent in their behavior that caused the accident, you may also be able to claim punitive damages. Insurers like Progressive may attempt to avoid these types of compensation, and you may need a New Mexico truck accident attorney to help you fully pursue your claim against Progressive.

HOW DOES PROGRESSIVE HANDLE ACCIDENT CLAIMS?

Progressive will often send out a claims adjuster to meet with the victim as soon as they receive notice of the accident. This may occur even before the extent of your medical injuries is clear. Progressive insurance adjusters may offer you a settlement amount at this point. However, you should be aware that this first quick attempt to settle your claim is often a lowball offer, made in an attempt to quickly settle the claim for as little as possible.

Given that you may not yet know the full extent of expenses for your medical care, it could be well below that final total. If you accept this initial offer, you may be unable to file any further claims against Progressive. Even though the adjustor may seem like a nice person who really cares about your situation, it is important to remember that they operate for their employer’s best interests, not yours.

Progressive, like any insurer, is a for-profit company, and this means that their bottom line is what is important to them. They have teams of adjusters and attorneys who work to help ensure they pay out as little as possible for a claim. Meanwhile, an attorney may be able to help you file your truck accident claim against Progressive.

Why Hire a truck accident claim attorney who is in New Mexico?

An attorney based here in New Mexico may also be able to help you navigate the settlement process. Located near where the accident occurred, Zinda Law Group New Mexico-based attorneys may be better able to investigate your case to determine liability. An attorney in this region may also help you accurately determine the true extent of your medical costs and property damage after a truck accident.

CONSULT THE NEW MEXICO TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS AT ZINDA LAW GROUP TODAY

At Zinda Law Group, our experienced team of truck accident lawyers may be able to help you file a claim with your insurer to pursue any compensation you may be entitled to after you or a loved one are injured in an accident. Our skilled attorneys may also help you  file a lawsuit, suing Progressive for the truck accident and seeking compensation based on your policy. Our skilled personal injury attorneys have years of experience helping accident victims pursue the maximum compensation they may be entitled to after another driver causes an auto accident.

Call (800) 863-5312 today for a free consultation with one of our New Mexico personal injury  lawyers. You will not pay anything unless we can win your case. That’s our No Win, No Fee Guarantee.

Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.