How To File A Car Accident Claim With Progressive Insurance

Last updated: November 7, 2026

First, we are sorry for you if you are trying to deal with Progressive Insurance on your own. Progressive has a history of delaying the claims process and ghosting claimants. This means it may take longer than it should to get the financial compensation you may deserve following a motor-vehicle accident. Another trick up Progressive’s greedy sleeve is low balling claimants when making offers to pay a claim.

Already filed and dealing with the adjuster? Read our companion guide on what to expect from a Progressive accident claim.

If you were hurt by an insured of Progressive, give Fob & Foster Personal Injury Lawyers a call today at 205-407-6009 or contact us online to discuss your case and see what we can do for you. 

WHEN WILL I HAVE A BODILY INJURY CLAIM WITH PROGRESSIVE?

If you were injured because of the actions of another motorist, you will have a bodily injury claim against the other motorist. How could Progressive Insurance be part of the equation? In either of two scenarios:

1) the other motorist has Progressive liability insurance, or

2) the other motorist is underinsured or uninsured and you have underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage through Progressive.

In either of these two scenarios, you will be dealing with Progressive Insurance.

Dealing With Progressive Insurance Is A Headache

The bottom line is that Progressive treats people who are injured by its insureds and its insureds who are injured by other people the same. In our experience, Progressive simply has a reputation of being difficult with claimants.

In fact, we are not the only ones who frown upon Progressive. Check out the terrible reviews others have left online. Ouch! Look at that rating!

How Do I Contact Progressive Insurance?

If you are involved in an accident that results in bodily injury you should contact an attorney first. We do recommend that you try to deal with Progressive on your own.

Your attorney can open a claim with Progressive on your behalf and you will never have to speak with any employee or agent of Progressive.

However, if you are involved in an accident that results in just property damage, you should consider contacting Progressive to report a claim. But where do you start?

Progressive provides two methods to file a claim:

1. you can call Progressive at (800) 776-4737 to report the accident; or
2. you can report the accident on Progressive’ website.

What Do I Need To Provide Progressive Insurance To File a Claim?

Like most insurance companies, Progressive’s goal is to pay out as little as possible on your claim. In fact, it will often fall on the accident victim to prove that he or she is fully entitled to collect on their insurance policy.

Thus, it is imperative to gather as much information as possible to help bolster your auto accident claim. 

Examples of information you may want to provide to your attorney or Progressive to support a claim include: 

• A FORMAL POLICE REPORT
• MEDICAL BILLS
• PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEOS OF THE ACCIDENT SCENE
• CONTACT INFORMATION FOR OTHER PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT
• WITNESS STATEMENTS
• WITNESS CONTACT INFORMATION

Since the insurance company’s goal is to pay you as little as possible, it is crucial to building a strong case for why you are entitled to collect.

An experienced accident attorney can help you identify and gather relevant evidence to use in pursuing your Progressive insurance claim. 

Step by Step: Filing a Claim After a Crash With a Progressive-Insured Driver

1. Get the crash report and the other driver’s policy number. The report lists the other driver’s insurer and policy number; in Alabama, reports are available through ALEA’s online portal, and our guide to Alabama crash reports walks through it.
2. Report the crash to your own insurer first, in writing, with the basic facts. Your policy requires it, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist, medical payments and collision coverages may end up paying more of the claim than Progressive does.
3. Open the claim with Progressive at 800-776-4737 with the date, location, report number and the insured’s name and policy number. Give the claim number to everyone who asks for it afterward, and give the adjuster nothing else: no recorded statement, no medical authorization, no estimate of your injuries.
4. Get medical care the same day and follow the treatment plan. A gap between the crash and the first visit is the first thing a Progressive adjuster will point to.
5. Document everything: photographs of the vehicles and the scene, witness names, the repair estimate, every bill and every day of work missed.
6. Do not accept an early offer. A first offer on an injury claim is often a few hundred dollars for a release that covers everything, including the surgery nobody has diagnosed yet. A settlement demand goes out only after the doctors can say what the future holds.
7. Watch the calendar. Alabama gives you two years from the crash to file a lawsuit under Ala. Code § 6-2-38, and an open claim number does not extend it.

Why the Policy Limits Decide the Strategy

Progressive writes a wide range of policies, and many of the drivers it insures in Alabama carry the state minimum: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. One emergency room visit, an ambulance and a few weeks of follow-up can exhaust the per-person limit, and a serious injury exceeds it many times over. So the first question in a claim against a Progressive-insured driver is not what Progressive will pay but what else is available: your own underinsured motorist coverage, which pays the difference between the at-fault driver’s limits and your damages and can often be stacked across the vehicles on your policy and a household relative’s policy; medical payments coverage on your own policy, which pays regardless of fault; the at-fault driver’s employer if the driver was working; and any other driver who contributed to the crash. A claim that looks like a $25,000 case against Progressive is frequently a $100,000 case once every policy in the household is read.

Two Alabama rules shape the rest. Contributory negligence bars any recovery if a jury finds you even slightly at fault, and an adjuster will use that rule to deny claims outright, so the fault evidence, the crash report narrative, the photographs, any camera footage and the other driver’s citation, has to be nailed down early. And Alabama does not allow a bad faith claim against the other driver’s insurer, so if Progressive stalls or lowballs, the remedy is not a complaint about Progressive; it is a lawsuit against its insured, which Progressive then has to defend and, within its limits, pay.

When Progressive Is Your Own Insurer

If you carry a Progressive policy and were hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver, the claim runs under your own uninsured motorist coverage, and the rules change in your favor. Alabama policies include UM coverage unless it was rejected in writing, a hit-and-run driver counts as uninsured, and your own insurer owes you a duty of good faith that the other driver’s insurer never did. An insurer that denies or stalls a UM claim without an arguable reason is exposed to Alabama’s bad faith tort on top of the policy limits. UM policies also carry strict notice and consent-to-settle requirements, so do not settle with the at-fault driver’s carrier before your own insurer has signed off, or the UM claim can be lost.

Progressive Claim Questions, Answered

How do I file a claim with Progressive after an accident?

Call Progressive’s claims line at 800-776-4737 with the crash date, location, report number and the insured driver’s name and policy number from the crash report. Report the crash to your own insurer as well. Give Progressive the claim facts and nothing more; recorded statements and medical authorizations are not required to open a claim.

How long does Progressive take to settle a claim?

Property damage claims with clear liability can resolve in weeks. Injury claims should not be settled until treatment is complete or the prognosis is known, which is usually months. A written demand with a response deadline, and a lawsuit if the deadline passes, is what moves a stalled file.

What if Progressive denies my claim or blames me for the crash?

Under Alabama’s contributory negligence rule, a denial based on your partial fault is the insurer’s strongest move, so it has to be answered with evidence rather than argument: the crash report, photographs, witnesses, camera footage and the other driver’s citation. If Progressive will not pay a reasonable amount, the case is filed against its insured in court, where Progressive must defend and pay within its limits.

Progressive’s offer will not cover my medical bills. What now?

Look past Progressive. Your own underinsured motorist coverage, including stacked coverage on other household vehicles, your medical payments coverage, the at-fault driver’s employer and any other negligent driver are all potential sources. We read every policy in the household before we tell you what the case is worth.

Can I sue Progressive for bad faith?

Only if Progressive is your own insurer. Alabama recognizes bad faith claims against a policyholder’s own insurer on first-party claims such as uninsured motorist coverage, but not against the at-fault driver’s liability insurer. If Progressive insures the other driver, the remedy is the injury lawsuit against that driver.

How much does a lawyer cost for a Progressive insurance claim?

Nothing up front. We handle injury claims on a contingency fee, advance the costs and are paid only out of the recovery. The consultation is free, and the first thing we do is identify every policy that can pay.

Related Practice Areas

• Birmingham Car Accident Lawyer
• Birmingham Bad Faith Insurance Attorney
• Birmingham Hit and Run Accident Lawyer
• What to Do When the Insurance Company Is Dragging Its Feet
• Birmingham Personal Injury Lawyer

Our Attorneys Can Help You With Your Progressive Auto Insurance Claim

Do not waste your time being jerked around by Progressive Insurance. Filing a bodily injury claim with Progressive can be complicated and tedious. Our team of personal injury and auto accident lawyers has extensive experience helping accident victims get the compensation they deserve from Progressive Insurance.

If you were hurt by an insured of Progressive, give Fob & Foster Personal Injury Lawyers a call today at 205-407-6009 or contact us online to discuss your case and see what we can do for you.

Fob James, IV

Fob James obtained a B.S., in software engineering from Auburn University and then continued his education by getting his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. After working for a large national firm for several years, Fob found that his passion was fighting for individuals who have been seriously injured or wronged by others. Fob believes that the jury is the great equalizer to the power and influence that large corporations have in society. Many of Fob’s cases are high profile and have been featured in, among others: Bloomberg News, PlanAdvisor, AL.com, PlanSponsor, National Law Review, and BusinessInsider. For his work in obtaining numerous multi-million dollar outcomes for his clients, Fob has been recognized by: National Trial Lawyers Top 100, SuperLawyers Rising Star (2020-2026), Birmingham Business Journal Who’s Who in Law (2023-2025), and TrustAnalytica – Top Personal Injury Lawyers in Alabama.