I was assigned a claims adjuster (Inez) and she did get me a rental car on Monday but only after I agreed to have them tow the vehicle to one of their service centers. I didn't realize it at the time but she was pressuring me to give the car to them and using my rental car as the incentive, because otherwise, it could have taken "2 or 3 days" in her words to get the car. Two days later they informed me tha tthe car was totalled. This would have put some financial stress on my and I told them I would like a second opinion. They said that I have that right and they would also be allowed to get an independant appraiser of their own. I said fine. I sent the photos and the estimate to a auto body shop who told me that he could repair the car for less than what the extimate was and it would be up to the same standards. The next day Inez told me that the vehicle was totaled and that was final because of the damage to the suspension. On the estimate there was no mention of the suspension and when I told her of this she said she was told this by her supervisor and that it was a "zero" line item on the estimate which I am assuming means that it is invisible. She said that the body shop would find the damage when they removed the quarter panel. How does she know this? I explained that I was having a tow truck to come get the vehicle. She said if I did that then Progressive would immediately deny my claim. WHAT?! What about what she said about having Progressive sending an independant adjuster to look at the vehicle? They then also threatened me with no longer paying for my rental car and now I have to return it on the 27th. Can they do this? According to the attorney I spoke with they can do this but then I would file a claim to be reimbursed. After do more research I discovered that the insurance company will make money on the salvage of the vehicle also and they keep that money for themselves so when they claim that they are paying you the value of the car that full value does not come out of their pocket because they get some of that money back. I am going to try to negotiate with them one more time over this but have a feeling they are determined to put me in 3,000 dollars worth of debt to save them a few hundred dollars. I was also advised to file a complaint with the PA Insurance Department, Consumer Complaints section which is my next step if we cannot resolve this. Here is the information should anyone else in PA happen to have the same problem.

Consumer Services
Pennsylvania Insurance Department
1209 Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA  17120
Phone: (717) 787-2317
Fax: (717) 787-8585
TTY/TDD: (717) 783-3898