You actually can not make these items up. Progressive Insurance coverage Firm, certainly one of America’s largest auto insurers, is alleged to have created a scheme that may make ambulance chasers blush – instantly feeding accident sufferer info to a legislation agency for solicitation.
The Weird Info
Image this: You get right into a minor fender bender, dutifully report it to Progressive, and two days later obtain an unsolicited name promising you $10,000 in the event you join with a legislation agency you’ve by no means heard of. That’s precisely what allegedly occurred to Kelly Prepare dinner and his spouse, Dr. Esther Kelley-Prepare dinner after their mother and father had a minor accident of their automobile.
The legislation agency, Kanner & Pintaluga (Okay&P), apparently wasn’t shy about revealing the supply of their lead, telling Dr. Kelley-Prepare dinner instantly that Progressive gave them the contact info beneath an settlement between the businesses.
The Severe Implications
Whereas the info learn like a rejected authorized comedy script, the results aren’t any laughing matter. The alleged scheme probably violates:
- Federal racketeering legal guidelines (RICO)
- The Driver’s Privateness Safety Act
- Texas barratry legal guidelines
- A number of moral guidelines governing legal professional conduct
The felony implications are extreme. As I’ve beforehand written in Public Adjusters and These Straight Soliciting Insurance coverage Claims on Behalf of Attorneys Are Committing a Crime and Can Go to Jail Together with the Attorneys, attorneys and those that have interaction in direct solicitation of claims for attorneys can face lack of their licenses and jail time relying upon the state the place these actions occur.
Why This Issues
This case highlights a rising drawback within the authorized policyholder facet of the insurance coverage claims business – the more and more aggressive techniques used to amass purchasers by means of probably unlawful means. It undermines the general public belief of those that know higher however are appearing out of greed slightly than service first.
For policyholders, this serves as a reminder to be cautious of unsolicited contact after an accident or a loss. For insurance coverage professionals and attorneys, it reinforces that no enterprise benefit is value risking your license or freedom.
The proposed class motion 1 seeks statutory damages of $10,000 per violation, amongst different treatments. However past the financial penalties, this case might lastly make clear practices which have lengthy operated at nighttime.
The outdated saying goes that fact is stranger than fiction. On this case, the reality about how some insurance coverage corporations and legislation corporations allegedly function might certainly be stranger – and extra troubling – than any fiction author might think about. Do I feel Progressive executives have accredited a scheme that gives personal info to plaintiff attorneys to make these kind of solicitations? No. However one way or the other, the legislation agency or these the legislation agency has engaged to marketplace for it has that personal info.
Bear in mind, in the event you obtain unsolicited contact after an accident or loss, doc all the pieces. And in the event you’re an insurance coverage skilled or legal professional, keep far-off from any schemes involving the direct solicitation of purchasers. The MMA fiasco can present what can occur. The results are merely not value it.
Thought For The Day
The legislation is the ground, not the ceiling, of ethics
—Thurgood Marshall
1 Prepare dinner v. Progressive Cas. Ins. Co., No.4:24-cv-4423 (S.D. Tex. [Complaint filed Nov. 11, 2024]).
