Shernoff Bidart Echeverria attorneys Howard Shernoff and Samuel Bruchey are currently filing a series of lawsuits against Progressive Insurance Company in California. The lawsuits allege that Progressive engages in a pattern and practice of denying valid auto claims by attacking their policyholders’ credibility during the claims handling process.
Typically, Progressive hires an outside attorney specializing in “suspicious claims” to intimidate claimants by making oppressive and unreasonable requests for personal information. When the claimants object or are unable to produce all the documents, Progressive denies the claims, citing claimants’ failure to cooperate.
Progressive also interviews claimants over the phone and uses the recordings of the interviews as evidence of “inconsistent statements” made by claimants – even when the statements have nothing to do with the claim. Shernoff and Bruchey also have reason to believe that Progressive targets vulnerable claimants, such as immigrants and minorities.