PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE OFFERS $1,000 ADVANCE FOR MEDICAL BILLS
Progressive Insurance sometimes offer their customers a $1,000 advance after a car accident injury. The money goes directly to the customer. Why do they do this? Progressive says the purpose is to help their customers with medical bills. Many people are confused by this.Why doesn’t Progressive just pay medical bills directly, like they are supposed to? Our car accident lawyers are asked about this regularly.
First you have to understand this is only about Progressive customers. When you are injured in a car accident in Minnesota, your own auto insurance pays your initial medical bills and wage loss. So, if you are injured in a car accident, and you have Progressive for your auto insurance, Progressive should pay your medical bills and wage loss.This is true regardless of who caused the crash. In other words, even if the other driver is entirely at fault, Progressive must pay your medical bills.
When Progressive offers a customer $1,000 to pay initial medical bills, they are hoping the customer will keep the $1,000 and not get medical treatment. Or maybe the customer will keep the $1,000 and charge medical bills to their health insurance. Either way, Progressive will then not have to pay more than $1,000.
WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE ACCEPTING PROGRESSIVE’S OFFER
If you may need ongoing medical treatment, you should not accept the initial money from Progressive. It is much better to have the medical providers bill Progressive directly. It is not worth it to keep the $1,000.
Medical providers in Minnesota know that auto insurance is supposed to pay for auto accident medical bills. Therefore, they may not be willing to accept your health insurance initially. If you use the $1,000 to pay medical bills, you are basically taking on bookkeeping responsibility for Progressive. You will have to save the bills and give them to Progressive before they pay anything more. In addition, you must be very careful that accepting the money from Progressive is not considered a settlement of your claim.
EXPERIENCED CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS
Our attorneys have over 25 years’ experience representing car accident victims throughout Minnesota. Of course, we have considerable experience with Progressive Insurance cases. If you have been injured in a car accident, call us for a free consultation. You will speak directly with an experienced car accident lawyer. We will answer your questions and explain the insurance issues to you in more detail. We never charge anything unless you receive compensation for your injuries.