Progressive Insurance Stands Up For Killer Of Policyholder: UPDATE
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UPDATED: Four times, and counting. See below.
If you're looking for a happy story to get you through the day, this isn't it. In fact, it's enough to send many folks back to bed, wondering if they can ever win against Big Insurance.
The details come from Matt Fisher, a member of the popular New York-based comedy troupe, Upright Citizens Brigade. But the story he posted yesterday on Tumblr is anything but funny.
On June 19, 2010, Matt's sister, Katie was driving in Baltimore, Maryland when she was killed crossing an intersection. All evidence points to Katie having the right of way, and the other driver running a red light, but as you'll see, that's not entirely important.
The key to this story is that the driver who killed Katie was underinsured.
According to Fisher, the driver's insurance company settled quickly with Katie's estate. Fisher continues:
[B]ecause the other driver was underinsured, that payment didn’t amount to much, but my sister carried a policy with Progressive against the possibility of an accident with an underinsured driver. So Progressive was now on the hook for the difference between the other guy’s insurance and the value of Katie’s policy.
At which point we learned the first surprising thing about Progressive: Carrying Progressive insurance and getting into an accident does not entitle you to the value of your insurance policy. It just pisses off Progressive’s lawyers.
Now, most of you are probably thinking, "Okay, then, just sue the pants off of Progressive." However, as Fisher points out, in Maryland, you can't sue an insurance company just because they refuse to pay out on a policy.
With no small amount of misgiving, Fisher's parents ultimately sued the at-fault driver, hoping that the lawsuit might convince Progressive to cough up the amount due. Instead, Progressive's legal team did something shocking: they defended the driver who killed Fisher's sister.
In other words, as Mr. Fisher eloquently says, "If you are insured by Progressive, and they owe you money, they will defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy."
Needless to say, a social media frenzy has begun a-brewing on Progressive's Facebook page and on Twitter. So far, the company has done little more than send a handful of canned tweets of sympathy.
Will Progressive cave to public pressure? Have any of you had appalling run-ins with your insurance company? You can share your thoughts and your stories below.
UPDATE #1: Progressive sent out this clarification about the story:
In response to today’s story involving Progressive Insurance, we wanted to share Progressive’s statement.
I’d like to take this opportunity to explain Progressive’s role in this complex case. First and foremost, our deepest sympathies go out to Kaitlynn Fisher’s family.
To be very clear, Progressive did not serve as the attorney for the defendant in this case. He was defended by his insurance company, Nationwide.
There was a question as to who was at fault, and a jury decided in the Fisher family’s favor just last week. We respect the verdict and now can continue to work with the Fisher family to reach a resolution.
--Chris Wolf, claims general manager, Progressive
Which seems fine. Except that it appears that Progressive isn't being entirely truthful.
Although the defendant was "technically" defended by Nationwide, news reports indicate that Progressive's in-house attorney, Jeffrey R. Moffet, assisted in that defense.
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Have an opinion?
Even if Progressive concedes and pays the estate, it's unlikely to be a policy change (no pun). In other words, there are likely many others in the same situation who will be ignored/denied because they could not draw the attention of the public.
I am sorry for the person's loss in this case, but the way the claim is being handled is exactly the way the policy is written.
They'll screw you any way they can!
That Progressive Advance Insurance Company be and is hereby allowed to intervene as a party Defendant.
That Progressive Insurance Company is GRANTED all rights to participate in this proceeding as if it were an original party to this case."
So when Chris Wolf says, "Progressive did not serve as the attorney for the defendant in this case. He was defended by his insurance company, Nationwide. " He is technically right.
In fact, though, Progressive did not represent the defendant - It got to act on its own behalf as if it were the defendant!
I saw the above response on the Progressive FB page, and it appears to explain the situation very well. It also
As for misleading comments, are you really surprised???
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