How to Handle Progressive Truck Insurance Claim – Arizona

CALL (800) 863-5312 TO SPEAK for free WITH A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER about suing Progressive for a truck accident

Due to their large size, semi-trucks, or 18-wheelers, can cause colossal damage to any motor vehicle that happens to collide into them. In the aftermath of an accident with a semi-truck, you may end up with a medical bill that exceeds your life savings many times over. Additionally, you may have lost your ability to earn an income. Of course, the first thing you may want to do is to file a claim with the semi-truck driver’s insurance company. However, simply filing a claim does not guarantee that you will get the compensation that you deserve—especially if that insurance company happens to be Progressive Corporation.

If you or your loved one has been injured in an accident in Arizona involving a semi-truck that is insured by Progressive Corporation, call Zinda Law Group at (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers. We have experience dealing with Progressive and know how to negotiate with insurance companies for what may be in your very best interest.

Progressive Corporation

Progressive Corporation is a household name. Its quirky commercials with the fictional employee named Flo have occupied television airwaves for more than a decade. One must not forget, however, that Progressive Corporation is a business. And as a business, its main priority is to generate profit for its shareholders. Because an insurance company can only generate profit if its payout does not exceed the premiums it receives and the interest generated from the premiums it invests into other assets, an insurance company is disinclined to give more than it has to its claimants.

Negotiating with the progressive Insurance Company

Though an insurance claims adjuster is paid to minimize the amount their employer has to pay to the claimant, you should not try to be difficult with him or her. In fact, a claims adjuster has the right to contact you and ask certain questions.

What an Insurance Claims Adjuster May Ask You

You should expect some of the following questions if you are filing an accident claim with Progressive Corporation. Here are some tips on how to answer these truthfully yet carefully.

Does the trucker’s insurance cover the injuries and other damages you received?

This is unlikely to be a problem since basic automobile insurance policies cover bodily injuries and property damages to a certain extent. Still, you may be asked this question.

Were you at fault for the accident?

If you were partially at fault, do not admit this to the claims adjuster. If you admit fault right away, your negotiations may be cut short. Let the insurance company find out if you were at fault and gather evidence that you were at fault. Admitting fault can even open the door for the opposing party to file a lawsuit against you. You do not want to admit fault under any circumstances when dealing with a claims adjuster.

What is the extent of your injuries?

When asked, you should list even the most minute of injuries you received and the most minute level of pain you are experiencing. You should do this because certain injuries do not manifest fully until several weeks or months after an accident. If you do not tell a claims adjuster of a minor pain and the minor pain turns into a major one, you may lose the opportunity to receive compensation for that specific pain. You should also describe the types and number of medical procedures or therapies you have received since the accident.

Tips for Dealing with the Progressive Insurance Company

Dealing with an insurance company as powerful as Progressive can be intimidating, even if you are not at fault for the car or truck accident. Here are some strategies to make the conversation a little more helpful to you in reaching your goals.

Have a Settlement Offer in Mind

You never want to sit at a negotiating table without knowing what you want. When you talk to a claims adjuster for the first time, be sure that you have a settlement amount in mind that is acceptable to you. You should not, of course, tell the claims adjuster this minimum amount. Depending on what the claims adjuster says, you may want to revise this amount.

Do Not Accept the Initial Offer 

Though you may want to move on with your life after an automobile or truck accident, you should not hurry negotiations with a claims adjuster. Claims adjusters know that claimants are often impatient to get back to their lives. That is why they may throw out a settlement offer that is much less than the amount they actually think the claim is worth. Because many claimants accept such lowball initial offers, claims adjusters still use this tactic frequently. However, if you are patient and willing to go back and forth, the likelihood of a higher settlement offer goes up.

Get Everything in Writing 

You should never let a claims adjuster promise you something without getting that promise into writing. This is because a claims adjuster may entice you with a good offer one day to get you to close the negotiation faster but when it comes time to actually settle, he or she may have “forgotten” that promise.

Do Not Fall for Common Improper Settlement Tactics 

Sometimes, a claims adjuster will see how far he or she can go to make a claimant give up on pursuing an insurance claim. If you feel an adjuster is trying to stall the negotiation process, you may be dealing with such an adjuster.

For instance, if the truck accident you were involved in had multiple vehicles involved, the claims adjuster may ask you to file a claim with the other parties’ insurance company first because they had more of a role in the accident. If such a situation occurs, tell the claims adjuster that you have the right to file a claim with any insurance company that may be liable for the accident, no matter the order.

Another tactic a claims adjuster may take is to visit a potential claimant while the claimant is under duress. Often, this time of duress is just hours or days after the accident when the claimant may still be in the hospital. Because the claimant may not be cognizant of what is going around him or her due to medical issues, he or she may sign papers that may ruin his or her chances of filing a viable claim.

Should I Get an Attorney? 

Acquiring an experienced personal injury lawyer who has dealt with Progressive Corporation before is wise, especially if the injuries and other damages you received were immense. This is because you do not want to make any mistakes that can lower the amount of compensation you receive. There are several pitfalls when dealing with an insurance company. One single mistake can be fatal.

For instance, you may be inundated with paperwork by the insurance company. If you fail to read but sign a document allowing the insurance company to have authorization to your medical records, you now have to worry that the insurance company will deny your claim because it may blame your current medical condition to previous illnesses or injuries. An experienced attorney will comb these documents for you and prevent you from signing anything that may be harmful to your claim.

In addition to preventing you from making mistakes, an experienced personal injury lawyer will have investigators working for him or her. These investigators will be able to collect surveillance video and witnesses from the scene of the accident much more effectively than a layman can.

Even if you do not plan to take your case to trial, it is still helpful to have an experienced lawyer who will handle the negotiation process for you. A claims adjuster will be more unlikely to try to hoodwink a lawyer who has handled personal injury law cases for years because he or she will know that the lawyer knows how much value a client’s claim is worth. Furthermore, an insurance company will be more willing to negotiate a settlement in your favor if your lawyer has been extremely successful in trials in the past.

Please note that if you decide to file a lawsuit, you are not suing the insurance company but the policyholder. In a trucking accident, the policyholder is generally the trucking company. Because a lawsuit is expensive for all parties involved, even large companies may agree to a settlement favorable to a claimant if the costs of settlement are cheaper than trial.

Statute of Limitations 

If a settlement will not provide you adequate relief, you may wish to file a lawsuit against the trucker’s company instead. However, you must be aware that there is a time limit to file a lawsuit. In Arizona, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. You should understand that two years is not a very long time. A settlement process itself can take a year. Therefore, if you feel that your negotiations with Progressive Corporation are going nowhere, you may wish to start preparing for a lawsuit.

You must also be aware of the pitfalls of not filing a lawsuit in a timely manner. For instance, if key witnesses to the accident are no longer available because of the passage of time, your lawsuit may no longer be viable even if it was before. In some rare occasions, you may still file a lawsuit even if the statute of limitations has expired. However, you should speak with a lawyer to determine if your case falls within this exception.

CONTACT A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER with truck accident claims experience

The experienced attorneys at Zinda Law Group may be able to help you with a claim against Progressive Corporation. After an accident, you shouldn’t have to worry about affording legal representation, which is why we work on a contingency fee basis. You don’t owe us anything unless we win your case. This is our No Win, No Fee Guarantee.

Call us today at  (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers.

Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.