By James E. Guyette.
Amid widespread cheers from his industry colleagues, a New York collision repairer has filed a lawsuit against Progressive Insurance charging that the carrier has engaged in rampant steering in violation of existing Empire State statutes.
“The powers that be in the government aren’t doing anything about it, so my only recourse is through the courts,” says Greg Coccaro Sr., president of North State Custom of Bedford Hills, N.Y.
Coccaro, having hired a lawyer working on a contingency basis, is pursuing the lawsuit on his own volition. “This stems from ‘enough is enough,’” he maintains. “It’s been a pattern of abuses back to as far as I can remember. They’re just so blatant and arrogant about it, I thought I had to do something.”
The action was recently filed in Westchester County Supreme Court. A trial date has not been set.
When approached by ABRN about the lawsuit Progressive declined comment, issuing a statement that “it is our practice to not comment on pending litigation.”
The suit alleges that over the past several years, “Progressive engaged in a massive scheme whereby it steers its insureds to its DRP program shops by making claims that the independent shops might not be guaranteed, or fully covered, or overpriced, or that the work will be unduly delayed. It has implemented this massive scheme by having its servants, employees, adjusters and/or appraisers make misleading and knowingly false and/or exaggerated statements concerning North State, and other independent auto body shops, to its insureds/claimants, in an effort to coerce the insured/claimant to have their car repaired at Progressive’s DRP shop,” Coccaro contends.
“In the case of North State, defendants have habitually coerced its insureds/claimants to have their vehicle removed from North State and brought to a DRP upon defendants’ representations to their insureds/claimants that North State is not a reputable body shop.”
Containing eight separate “causes of action,” the suit further charges that Progressive “has violated through its unfair claims practices” New York State regulation section 2610 of the insurance law that states: “An insurance company cannot require that repairs be made to a motor vehicle in a particular place or repair shop. You have the right to have your vehicle repaired in the shop of your choice.” LINK.
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