During the heavy rain storms of 2007 in Central Texas my travel trailer suffered water damage. Progressive denied my claim by claiming the trailer had a “manufacturers defect” (refrigerator vent). However, I was the ONLY KNOWN CASE of this defect. I refiled the claim a year later (after my return from deployment) and had the Progressive Agent call Weekend Warrior Trailers, before they went out of business, and they confirmed that the “manufacturers defect” was unheard of.
Progressive re-investigated my claim and AGAIN claimed “manufacturers defect,” but a DIFFERENT defect (undefined). I objected and demanded they show me ANY OTHER Progressive claims on Weekend Warrior Trailers with this “manufacturers defect.” They were unable to do so.
Progressive then changed the denial to “leaky seals” (read: improper user maintenance). However, they based this claim on pictures and testing over 600 days AFTER the initial claim.
Can I sue Progressive Insurance in small claims court for the several thousand dollars it will cost me to repair my travel trailer. What other recourse do I have to “fight” this injustice. I dropped Progressive shortly after I began the claims process so I know they don’t want to payout several thousand dollars after I only paid about 0 for a years’ insurance. But isn’t this a gamble the insurance company’s take?
You can try, but I’d save my money if I were you. Your insurer’s pockets are almost certainly deeper than yours, and they will play the hold-out and stall-’em game. Their attorneys know how to drag things out so long that eventually you will give up, either because you can’t afford to pursue it anymore, or because you just get sick and tired of their games.
Frankly, Progressive is probably correct. Travel trailers are known to leak on the highway, after leaving the factory and before arriving at the dealership.
You do not indicate the age of your travel trailer, but they ARE maintenance intensive, and should be stored indoors when not in use.
Suing is not the answer. If you think they are not complying with the policy you have on the trailer, submit a complaint the the Insurance Commissioner. The Insurance Department will then look into it and rule in favor of you or them. It will be Progressive’s burden to prove there isn’t coverage and prove what the cause was.
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/