Progressive Auto Insurance Claims

Progressive is one provider of car insurance policies in California. All drivers in the state must carry certain minimum insurance coverage. However, insurance providers do not always meet their obligations to policyholders, and the insurer for another driver who is at fault for an accident is not always ready to treat you fairly if you were injured in the accident. It can be helpful to retain an experienced Los Angeles car accident attorney in connection with a Progressive auto insurance claim to make sure that you get what you are owed.

Insurance providers owe a duty to act in good faith to their policyholders. However, it is still important to file a claim properly in order to avoid risk and becoming vulnerable to litigation. Most people buy insurance specifically to address the risk of litigation or loss. While car accidents are not usually anticipated, they can cause quite a bit of anxiety because if a jury finds that you were liable for the car accident, you could be held responsible for the other driver's damages. If you have liability coverage, your insurance company is supposed to defend you and indemnify you up to a certain limit of coverage.

After an accident involving serious injuries, it is important to call 911. If the police come out to the scene, they may cite a driver who is at fault. The police report can play an important role in the claims process.

The other driver and you will need to exchange your contact information as well as insurance information, policy numbers, and license numbers. You should not apologize or admit fault to the other driver, since these remarks may be used as evidence of fault in case of litigation. You should also take down the names and phone numbers of any witnesses who are present.

If Progressive is your insurer, it prefers to be contacted as soon as possible after leaving the accident scene. Its phone number is 1-800-PROGRESSIVE. A claims representative will speak to you about the accident. The insurer looks into the coverage that you have available, determines its extent, and dispatches an adjuster to make an estimate about damages. If you are seriously hurt and believe that the other driver was at fault, however, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney right away.

California is a fault state, which means that you can sue the other driver, and if the other driver is found at fault by the judge or jury, its insurance provider is supposed to pay your damages in what is known as a third-party liability claim. Most cases settle. However, whether you go to court or reach a settlement with another driver's insurer, you will likely need to establish negligence. This means that you will need to show that you were owed a duty of care by the defendant, the defendant breached the duty of care, causation, and damages. A breach of the duty of care while operating a car can include texting while driving, using a GPS navigator, being drunk or fatigued, or failing to obey traffic signals. When a defendant's violation of a safety law causes an accident, a presumption of negligence per se (negligence as a matter of law) may apply.

Sometimes multiple drivers may be at fault, and in that case, the jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party. This can be helpful when one driver has insufficient or no insurance coverage to address your damages. However, long before a case goes to trial, the insurers will try to figure out an appropriate settlement, and it is important to have legal representation throughout this process. Often, an insurer for the other party will try to find a way to pin the blame on the plaintiff.

If you are injured in a car accident and need to make a Progressive auto insurance claim, it is important to determine what contributed to the accident. At Sharifi Firm, PLC, our experienced attorneys can provide knowledgeable legal representation. Contact us at (866) 422-7222 or via our online form. We represent people in cities such as Los Angeles, Riverside, Temecula, Rancho Cucamonga, Glendale, Covina, and San Bernardino.