Grab some popcorn, sit back, relax, and get ready for a tale of tragedy, suspense, drama, and deceit!

^(TL/DR at the end)

Last fall my son was involved in a fender bender in my truck and he received a ticket for improper lane change. Progressive (my insurance) refused to pay and Geico (other person's insurance) sold the cost of repairs to Allied Recovery Solutions (a debt collector), who is now demanding payment.

Backstory: My son (19), who does not live with me, is not on my insurance, and is not a regular driver, borrowed my truck (without permission) while I was out of the state and got into an accident. A few days later, Geico called and said that they were taking responsibility, would for all of my repairs, and wanted to set up a time to evaluate the damages. Since I was out of state, I said that I would call once I returned home in 2 weeks. Once Geico discovered that my son had received a ticket, they backed out of the offer to repair my truck.

A few months later Progressive called my son & I to get statements. A few day later a different Progressive agent calls me and goes through the same basic questions until he hits me with "so the original coverage investigation was for an excessive amount of vehicles to one driver on the policy." (I actually have a total of 6 tagged & insured vehicles. Other than the 2016 pickup involved in the accident, they are 35, 40, 46, 56, & 59 years old. {as of 2026} I'm retired & collect/restore old cars/trucks for my personal use. I'm a car guy!) The agent didn't care about any of that and went on saying that I was "sub-leasing" my truck to my son and that was not allowed. (My son decided to buy the truck from me 2 weeks prior & told the agent)

The Plot Thickens..... The agent stated "I understand that at the time of the accident, subleasing was not going on." He then went on to demand a copy of our agreement and the last 4 months bank statements although he did say I could redact anything not having to do with me & my son and the amounts. He also stated that, once he received those documents, he could "close down the claim."

(BTW, once my kid decided to buy my truck, I put him on my policy. I told my local agent what was going on and he said that it was OK and was a common practice)

Two weeks later: The progressive agent calls again, now demanding UN-redacted copies of my bank statements & the contract. He pushes hard for the documents and how this is a sub-leasing investigation now, etc... I remain polite & professional, but pushed back and because he kept mentioning the "sub-leasing investigation", I asked what the status of the original "CRASH" investigation was. He stated that it was CLOSED and that they would not repair my vehicle.

"So the investigation into the accident my son had in my truck, that you stated no sub-leasing was going on at the time of the crash, is closed & your are refusing to repair my truck? Is that correct?" The agent stated yes, and agreed again when I rephrased the question the second time.

I finally asked the Progressive agent "What is the worst that could happen if I refuse to send you these un-redacted documents?" his response was "We just won't renew your policy when it next comes due." Fine! I'll take my business elsewhere. (I actually got much better coverage for the same rate with State Farm!)

A few weeks later I get a letter from Progressive stating that the claim was closed due to "lack of cooperation" on my part.

Just When You Though It Was Safe..... I received a letter from Allied Recovery Solutions demanding $7k+ plus "any additional payments". Apparently they bought the repair cost from Geico since Progressive refused to pay it.

I sent a debt validation letter to Allied and am still waiting to see what their response will be.

I contacted Progressive and asked for ALL of the files/documents/recordings pertaining to my claim. They only sent what I had sent them and 2 (out of 3) of the recorded phone calls and then refused to send anything else claiming it was all "Work Product". Suspiciously missing was the third phone call where the agent made statements that would be detrimental to Progressive's defense.

Legal Guys, Jump In Here -->

WORK PRODUCT - "documents and other tangible things. . . prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial."

"*Most courts agree that materials prepared and information obtained in the routine and ordinary course of business, or pursuant to public requirements unrelated to litigation, are not entitled to protection.*^(19) *These courts generally accept the principle that the mere likelihood of litigation will not be enough to protect the materials and information from discovery.*^(20) Thus, investigations and incident reports which follow an accident may not qualify as work product if they are required as part of the ordinary course of business." - floridabar.org

In short, they refused to send me documents & recordings that were gathered in the normal course of business and therefore not protected under the work product doctrine.

Summary TL/DR

• 19 yo son gets in fender bender & receives a ticket - Florida.
• Progressive drops accident investigation & starts an excessive amount of vehicles to one driver investigation.
• Excessive amount of vehicles to one driver investigation then turns into sub-leasing investigation.
• Progressive states that, when accident occurred, there was no sub-leasing going on. (Claim should be treated as normal, as if a friend borrowed your car & got into an accident.)
• Progressive agent states that the accident investigation is closed & they would not repair my vehicle.
• The agent also states that the worst that will happen in I refuse to provide un-redacted documents is that my policy will not be renewed.
• Progressive sends claim denial due to "lack of cooperation"
• Collection agency demands payment for other driver's damage.
• Progressive refuses to send discovery material, claiming "work product" doctrine protection.

My thoughts: Progressive should pay for damages under the agreed coverage. Whether or not "sub-leasing" happened months later, AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, the driver was not a regular driver (<1x per month) and did not live in my home. The accident should have been treated the same as if I let a friend borrow my truck for the day.

What do you think?

P.s.

My kid quit his job a few weeks after deciding to buy the truck and stopped paying so I took it back. (Which I knew would eventually happen. This generation!!! 👀 )