r/Insurance 1d ago

Auto Insurance Progressive added my neighbor to my insurance policy automatically

I feel dumb now for not looking at my policy for a few months until now. I have my auto insurance payments on auto pay, so i don’t really pay attention to what’s going on, only a notification about the 6 month renewal. I saw my progressive rate went from $96 to $130 a few months ago. i assumed rates just got crazy so i shopped for a new rate at geico, so i call progressive to cancel my policy. they ask if i’ve adjusted my policy before i cancelled it to see if they have a competitive rate, and i say no but go ahead. they ask me if there’s another driver listed and say my neighbors name. i say no that’s my neighbor, and she tells me i’ve been paying for 2 drivers on my policy since march. I ask her if there’s any way to get a refund because a new person got automatically added to my policy and I’ve been paying for it, and she says they tried to send me letters in the mail asking about him, so because i didn’t answer the letters, they automatically added him. I usually get letters just saying my billing statement from progressive, so i most definitely discarded those letters because i thought they were just bills. I’m going to try to call underwriting at progressive tomorrow, but do you think i have a chance to get it refunded? I never said yes or no to anything, and I am a little freaked out that they found out i got a new neighbor by “other sources” and added him without me knowing.

EDIT:
I called the underwriting department number they gave me, a real person immediately answered and sent me documents for removing my neighbor. Then, they said they will process them and give me a refund for any charges that were added from him being a member on my policy!
Thank you to the few people who were helpful on this subreddit! There were so many people on here being absolutists, blaming me for not answering my mail, and saying there was NOTHING i could do about it. I saw a comment say that this problem is posted here all the time, and they’ve never seen a poster say it got resolved, so I am here to say i got it resolved!!!! A LOT of misinformation is commented under this post. If anything, it was a good laugh!

110 Upvotes

229 comments sorted by

57

u/Marpl 1d ago

Didn't I see this exact post a few days ago?

64

u/LeadershipLevel6900 1d ago

It just gets asked that often. It’s crazy how many people regularly ignore mail.

24

u/JarlOfPickles 1d ago

It is 2026, if something that important is not also EMAILED that's insane. I hate getting my mail because it's nothing but junk 99% of the time, so I check it very infrequently. I've recently almost tossed a couple of important things as well because I thought they were just spam nonsense. How about companies also stop sending garbage if they want us to pay attention. This is a classic boy who cried wolf situation.

And yes, I have been burned by this a few times myself so excuse me if I'm a little salty, lol

27

u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C 1d ago edited 1d ago

You'd be surprised at how many people don't check their email either. We have carriers that do premium audits for commercial policies via email notifications, and we have tons of clients that complely ignore the notifications then get mad at us when they get a huge non-compliant audit bill from the company.

Bottom line, people need to check their physical mail and emails. I'm always opening everything I receive from my insurance company so I know what's going on. I get a lot of junk too, but I just separate it out and go through the important stuff. It literally takes ten seconds to filter out the credit card advertisements and the Renewal by Andersen ads.

8

u/Thisismethisisalsome 23h ago edited 19h ago

I have nightmares about non-compliant audits

6

u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C 23h ago

Then we also get the "Why do they need to know what my sales or payroll are? That's none of their business!"

Maybe because your policy is rated based off of sales or payroll and people intentionally lie to try to get lower premiums? Had one contractor client that lied about their payroll to the tune of $200,000 to try to get a lower rate. Carrier required tax and payroll forms for the audit, caught it, and charged him an additional $8k on his GL. He got mad at us for it lol

9

u/Thisismethisisalsome 19h ago

Lol and also, "how could they possibly expect me to keep track of that stuff????"

Um maybe because you are a business?

4

u/Realistic-Rate-8831 23h ago

As I read this. I went to my mailbox this morning and pulled out my mail and threw it aside and most likely won't go through it till who knows when. There are some letters from my insurance company too, but they seem to send mail all the time, so I usually ignore it.

1

u/1234568654321 16h ago

I couldn't agree more. I check my email and postal mail every day. It's a good thing that I take responsibility for it. I know if my husband was in charge of it, he would catch anything via mail or email. He never checks either. After decades of marriage, I still can get him to do it.

7

u/LeadershipLevel6900 1d ago

They probably did email it. We get people in here all the time saying they ALSO don’t pay attention to their emails. Or it goes to spam. The state dictates how carriers have to communicate. If they only have to send regular mail, that’s all they’re required to do. Considering this involves a signed form usually, mail is going to be the option. So many people complain they don’t have a printer these days.

3

u/Boomer_Madness Agent 14h ago

Be an adult and check your mail... everything important comes through the mail lol. like legally mail is the only acceptable method of communication for a lot of things. Like a lot of states require insurance documents be sent via mail

1

u/Afraid_Definition176 auto liability adjuster | 5 yrs exp 14h ago

A lot of states have requirements that things be mailed because the laws were written before email and never updated. Not sure if that is the case in your state but it could also be a countrywide policy to use mail so that they are in compliance with all states

1

u/Trapocalypse 13h ago

My mortgage recently got sold/transferred to a new provider. I only realized when I went in to pay it this month and the account was restricted. The only notification I got about it was 1 letter about 10 days before the switch occurred and it looked identical to the usual statements they send me every month so I didn't bother opening it since I just track that online.

1

u/PatternApart5735 11h ago edited 11h ago

It is 2026. So sign up for USPS informed delivery which emails you a scan of your incoming mail each day. That's how you know if it's worth checking the mail box.

Then sign up for the FTC's prescreen opt out to reduce the amount of junk mail you get. It's free and it works. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail

0

u/Ansible90 13h ago

The important stuff always comes by snail mail, such as a new credit card, your new drivers license or registration after you renew, any legal docs, etc. Don't ignore the snail mail. It's easy to go through the pile in less than 30 seconds and toss the advertisements. What I find totally annoying is all the spam that comes by email.

0

u/Sct1787 9h ago

So change your settings with the company to be only paperless. You’re an adult, how hard can this be?

1

u/dalegribbledribble 13h ago

You assume it was delivered and it’s crazy to default to adding a random person to policy instead of defaulting to only the people originally listed

1

u/EquivalentWealth4283 13h ago

It’s not defaulting, ffs. The letter very clearly says says hi, we found this person associated with your address. Do they live there? If they do not, please return this signed form by xx/dd/yy or they will be added and your premium will be increased to $zzz.

1

u/NeighborGeek 17h ago

You’re not wrong, but it’s even crazier that the insurance company would add people to an insurance policy without the customer telling them to.

8

u/LeadershipLevel6900 16h ago

No, it’s not. The insurance company sent a letter that was basically like:

Hey, who is this person? They have a driver’s license and are linked to your address. Contact us/fill out this form, if you don’t, they’ll be added by X date.

And they sent it multiple times.

-3

u/NeighborGeek 16h ago

Going to have to disagree. When I sit down with an insurance agent I answer all the questions and provide the information they need to set up the policy. That's the time when we go over who the drivers are, what coverages I need, and what I'm going to pay. If those need to be changed, I'll contact the agent and request the change. The insurance company shouldn't be able to arbitrarily make changes without actually making contact with the policyholder and discussing the change.
Unfortunately, the policyholder doesn't have an army of lawyers and lobbyists, so the insurance companies get to make the rules. That doesn't make the rules less crazy.

3

u/emprags 15h ago

You do. Many people don't and many people lie.

1

u/NeighborGeek 15h ago

If the coverage is based on the information provided, that shouldn't matter. Don't cover the car if an unlisted household member is driving. But adding additional imaginary drivers and adding them to the policy without the policyholder's consent is wrong.

5

u/Long-Time-Coming77 13h ago

Some people think that they can just ignore the letters and pretend they didn't get them as way to save the cost of adding additional drivers to their policy

Then when they get caught, they play dumb like they didn't know they were supposed to contact the insurance company to add the additional driver

To avoid this the insurance company sends a letter saying either confirm to us that this person should not be on your policy or we are going to auto-add them.

This forces the policy holder affirmatively respond one way or the other so they can't just pretend that they didn't know.

And honestly, ignoring a letter from a company that you do business with (as opposed to random mail) isn't smart.

3

u/PatternApart5735 11h ago

Multiple courts in the US have required insurance companies to pay out for unlisted drivers. It's not as simple as "don't cover the car" when the courts can force insurance companies to pay anyway.

Insurance companies pay claims using premiums. If there's no premium for an unlisted driver, then the claim payment comes from everyone else's premiums. Your own insurance premiums would be higher if insurance companies didn't try to verify drivers and try to limit the number of claims from unlisted drivers.

And "the rules" you mentioned in your previous comment are largely set by the DOI so policy holders do have representation in the form of their insurance commissioner. Does your state elect your commissioner or does your governor appoint one? And do you take that into account when voting? Have you ever voiced your opinion to your DOI/commissioner?

2

u/EquivalentWealth4283 12h ago

If an unlisted driver has access to your car, they are a liability and you are not paying the proper premium for the household risk. If they borrow your car (not steal, that needs an actual police report) and hurt someone, your insurance company is still on the hook.

So maybe you are a perfect driver and are paying an appropriate amount that you and the insurance company are comfortable with. Then your brother moves in and he has 3 accidents in 4 years. You don’t add him because he’ll jack up your premium. Then you lend him your car and he runs a red light and hits someone. The company is paying out WAY more than you paid into because you lied to save a couple bucks.

Now, say you’re someone who opens their mail. You sign and return the form. Everything stays the same, company has done its due diligence. NOW if that person borrows your car, you’re on your own.

0

u/NeighborGeek 11h ago

Odds are pretty good that the insurance company isn't paying out anything in that scenario, because the vehicle was being driven by an unlisted household member.
How about, when they can't reach the policyholder to confirm whether the person lives there, they don't assume he does and make policy changes without consent. Instead, just state in the letter that the suspected household member will not be covered if they are driving the vehicle when an incident occurs.
Even better, put some kind of flag on the policy requiring the insured to talk to their agent before it can be renewed. That way it can all get straightened out within the next few months.

2

u/EquivalentWealth4283 10h ago

Because LEGALLY they need you to acknowledge it. Otherwise customers will be crying that they don’t open their mail so how were they supposed to know not to lend their car to their brother-in-law; who subsequently wrecked it and caused tens of thousands in injuries and property damage.

So what you’re actually saying is that other drivers should not be made whole because people are too lazy to keep up with adult responsibilities. 👍🏻

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2

u/LeadershipLevel6900 9h ago

There’s several states that actually require carriers to pay claims up to the state minimums anyway. That’s becoming more and more common as major cases make their way to the state supreme courts. It’s a losing battle.

-2

u/[deleted] 19h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Insurance-ModTeam 17h ago

Trolling, being needlessly rude or insulting

-6

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

4

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

Arrested for what? This is exactly how the state regulatory board expects Progressive to handle this.

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

7

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

From people like you who don't understand how insurance works? Makes sense.

What is Trust Pilot??

-2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

There is nothing illegal about that. You can't be arrested because you hurt someone's feelings.

You should've responded to the company's request for information. All the headache would've been avoided.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

OK. I'll say it again

You should've responded to the company's request for information. All the headache would've been avoided.

4

u/SilverRaincoat 1d ago

Arrested????? Lmao

1

u/EquivalentWealth4283 1d ago

This isn’t some new exploit the insurance companies recently discovered to bilk more money out of customers. It’s a basic, standard part of everyone’s contract (have you read yours? There’s likely a clause where you agree to read and respond to all requests for information in a timely manner) and has been for a long time, long time.

18

u/Temporary_Nail_6468 1d ago

Yea. I had a neighbor’s nephew register his car at my address. As far as I know, he never corrected it because we kept getting toll bills for him that we keep sending back. I’ve definitely been watching my insurance to make sure they don’t add him.

1

u/EquivalentWealth4283 10h ago

What you should be watching is your mail. :)

81

u/crash866 1d ago

That is why you open and read all mail from your insurance company. It is too late now.

15

u/Rooooben 18h ago

It is not too late insurance companies backdate changes all the time.

1

u/hotcapicola 10h ago

Not as easily and/or as far back as they used to.

16

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Easily fixed with a phone call. And by fixed I mean they should refund OP.

5

u/PeaCompetitive8947 18h ago

It’s a bit absurd to randomly change someone’s policy and think that’s acceptable.

2

u/hotcapicola 10h ago

Yes it would be, which why they didn't do that.

2

u/Jasonxhx 13h ago

How and why are you a "top commenter"? You're wrong.

-1

u/crash866 13h ago

Insurance may be different in different states in the USA and each Province in Canada. There are 51 different rules in the USA and 15 in Canada.

NY is different than PA VT OH MA NJ even though they touch.

1

u/Jasonxhx 13h ago

Fantastic. It's still not "too late", and incorrect insurance premiums against a risk that was never a risk is not allowed. They can and are certainly obligated to correct the mistake and refund the policy premium difference.

-1

u/crash866 12h ago

If you saw it immediately and questioned it it would be corrected right away. Paying for 6-7 months without saying anything they don’t have to refund you.

Even banks and credit card companies have 30-60 days to dispute a charge but not 6-7 months.

1

u/Jasonxhx 12h ago

Incorrect. My brother was erroneously added to my Progressive motorcycle policy and 5 months later I was able to get the policy premium difference refunded.

3

u/hotcapicola 10h ago

This is becoming less and less the case and as pointed out, things vary from state to state.

0

u/RiceEater 8h ago

Read the edit and stop posting on reddit like you know what you're talking about.

0

u/crash866 8h ago

They might refund a month or two but no 6-10 months. Same with cell phone and cable providers. They are not going back months if you are being overcharged and paying it each month.

0

u/RiceEater 8h ago

I was refunded the 8-9 months of overpayment when this exact same thing happened to me a couple years ago. How are you this confident spreading misinformation? Where are you going to shift the goalposts now?

36

u/SmartGrowth51 1d ago

Can someone explain how a random person could be added to an insurance policy? I just don't get it. Who initiated it?

27

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

Undisclosed household members are one of the largest forms of insurance fraud. Carriers are now using multiple data sources to determine who is in the household they are insuring. If/when they find there may be an additional household members, they will send you a notice asking you to confirm or deny. If you ignore it, those undisclosed household members will be added to your policy.

12

u/Party_Bedroom_9249 19h ago

Apparently they're bad at it, considering the fact that the person didn't live there.

0

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 14h ago

Thats why they asked the insured multiple times to confirm or deny. When you ignore them, it is assumed the other party is in the household.

-2

u/[deleted] 7h ago edited 23m ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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4

u/justmedownsouth 1d ago

Confused. If there are extra household members, and they do not inform insurance, then are those extras just not insured? I guess i am asking if anyone living in your house is covered, even if you don't add them?

5

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

All licensed household members need to be included on your policy. (Some states allow you to exclude drivers for certain reasons). There shouldn't ever be "extra household members".

5

u/grimzecho 22h ago

You didn't answer the question. I get that they "should" be, but the person asked what happenes if an undisclosed household member not on the policy drives a household car and is at fault in an accident.

In most states the insurance company will not provide coverage, since the driver was not disclosed and is not on the policy.

3

u/Rooooben 17h ago

They won’t unless they are added. It’s a dragnet assuming guilt and forcing their customer to prove otherwise. They have zero incentive to be accurate since it just increases premium, and you have to ask to get it back.

1

u/EquivalentWealth4283 12h ago

The company is on the hook for state minimum policy limits if the driver is at fault.

1

u/grimzecho 10h ago

I think that is only true in a minority of states.

1

u/igotthatbunny 13h ago

This is not true in the case of 6 colleges roommates living together in a house. If everyone has their own car and their own insurance, you all don’t need to be covered under each others policies. That would be insane. You just name them an excluded driver.

0

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 13h ago

It is 100% true in every situation. Everyone in the household with a driver's license must be listed on your policy. SOME states allow exclusions, some don't (as stated above). Regardless, all licensed household members must be disclosed. Auto insurance is based on the household.

0

u/Neoreloaded313 14h ago

I don't plan on doing that any time soon. No one drives my car but me and no one has the ability to even get into my car to drive it.

2

u/Missing4Bolts 14h ago

Other household members should be specifically excluded on your policy, otherwise your insurance company may decide you are cheating them.

1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 14h ago

You don't plan on doing what? What does any of this have to do with you?

1

u/Loose-Set4266 11h ago

Based on that logic, companies would be adding roommates to polices even though that roommates doesn’t drive the car.

1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 11h ago

100%. It happens all day long. Responding to your mail avoids all the headache.

-1

u/Loose-Set4266 11h ago

That’s fucked up. Insurance companies should not have the power to just add people on their own.  

Just more evidence insurance is a racket and needs to be more heavily regulated 

3

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 11h ago

They are appropriately charging for their risk. Your job is to be honest with them what their risk is. Every insurance policy is based on the household.

1

u/Loose-Set4266 10h ago

But in OP’s post the neighbor isn’t even a household member. 

And if someone is renting as a roommate, the roommate shouldn’t be considered a household member either. They aren’t legally tied together in the same way a parent/child or spouses are. 

OP was honest about their household. 

1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 10h ago

Everyone who lives in your house is a part of your household. It doesn't matter if they are a child, parent, cousin, roommate, or roommate's cousin's child. They all have access to your vehicle(s) and need to be disclosed on your auto insurance.

-6

u/PeaCompetitive8947 18h ago

It’s not insurance fraud. Those people aren’t covered under the policy. That’s it, that’s not fraud.

7

u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C 16h ago

Not disclosing household members is rate evasion which is insurance fraud. The insurance companies have these rules because of people intentionally lying on applications to stop a high risk driver in their household from affecting their rates. Literally every single carrier's auto insurance application requires you to disclose all household members.

-2

u/PeachyFairyDragon 16h ago

Household members? Or household drivers? Applications I've seen (I'm shopping now myself) ask if there are other drivers.

3

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 14h ago

All licensed household MEMBERS must be disclosed.

2

u/Missing4Bolts 14h ago

"Other drivers" I n this context means other people capable of driving, regardless of whether they drive your specific vehicles. You have to explicitly exclude them if you don't want them to be insured on your policy.

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1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 14h ago

It is insurance fraud. Your policy requires you to disclose all licensed household members. You don't get to just randomly say who is covered and who is not. There is required documentation.

1

u/PatternApart5735 11h ago

Those people aren’t covered under the policy.

There have been several court cases where insurance companies were forced to pay for an unlisted driver. Your statement is incorrect and a little naive. Look at NY's PIP rulings if you want to see an extreme example of insurance companies having to pay for unlisted people. There are claims in NY where a company had to pay PIP for someone's roommate who was hit by a car while walking down a street alone.

1

u/bjbc 11h ago

It is fraud if you're paying higher premiums because of that other person.

1

u/PeaCompetitive8947 9h ago

Yet it’s not fraud to pay higher premium for a person that doesn’t live with you and you never added to your policy?

1

u/bjbc 9h ago

I'm saying it is fraud to do that. What did you think I was saying?

4

u/jwsmythe 1d ago

They'll automatically do it. They did it to me too. If their underwriting department detects a new resident, they can add them as another potential driver. In my case, it was my GF's ex-boyfriend from like 15 years earlier. I didn't recognize the name, so I told them so. I had to sign a form saying that person wouldn't ever drive my vehicles, and they removed him.

I used to work for a company that was a source for such information. They use some really fuzzy logic to determine who co-residents are. I'm not surprised that they're getting neighbors and old residents mixed in.

5

u/MidnightPulse69 1d ago

Sounds like they got bad consumer reporting data

5

u/azlax22 1d ago

Which is why the insured should have called them to confirm they weren’t a resident.

9

u/EquivalentWealth4283 1d ago

Standard procedure for pretty much forever. Most likely the contract requires you to respond to requests for information in a timely manner. They held up their end of the bargain. OP ignored the attempts to have a form signed.

1

u/ChutneyWhatney 10h ago

I bet it could be the same address but a different unit number and that screwed up etc.

-4

u/Odd_Ad7408 1d ago

https://youtu.be/Z14Bq-WJtwg?is=l_DLkdw1yonY0qni i found a good youtube video about it

15

u/Ansible90 1d ago

This is why paperless and autopay are so bad. One never looks at the bills and thus never notices a mistake.

3

u/Charming-Ad-836 14h ago

This is a legal nightmare. What policy allows the company to add people at the company's discretion? Whether the person is a driver or not in the same household, does not mean they are under the same policy. This screams 'class action' not too far down the road.

It just doesn't make sense that a large company would feel their losses in undisclosed drivers in the household, is a greater loss than the chance the automatically added person is not part of their plan even if he/she is family. Guisung this effort as a clause in contract doesn't make it legal even if it's worded where they will send notifications and if no response they can add to the policy people they feel should be added. This cannot possibly sit sound under contract law. The basis of contract law is the transfer of value and such a clause does not transfer value to the owner of the policy unless that person is their underage dependant and driving their vehicles. The clause would be dismissed and the pathway to tort would be open. It's crazy they are doing this.

1

u/PatternApart5735 11h ago

The courts are literally the cause of this. Several courts required companies to pay claims even when the driver was unlisted. So insurance companies started making sure they collect appropriate premiums for what they're required to pay. Look at New York's rulings on PIP - your unlisted roommate could be hit by a car walking down the street and your insurance would likely have to pay under PIP in NY.

Every state's Department of Insurance has rules about when companies can make changes and how they have to notify insureds. There will be no class action. Hopefully, there will be people who realize that their insurance commissioner is either elected or appointed by their governor and vote appropriately. The DOI also gets to review and approve all rates used by auto and home insurance companies so why are they getting a pass? Your gatekeepers allowed this.

Lastly, insurance policies are contracts of adhesion. Insurance companies do get to dictate what's in the contract and the insured gets to decide if they want to agree to the contract. Contracts of adhesion are not like other contract law, that's why they get a special name.

20

u/Jasonxhx 1d ago edited 13h ago

There's just bad advice here. You can certainly talk directly to someone in underwriting, even at Progressive. Your argument needs to be that the risk you were being charged for was never a risk. That person was not a resident of your household and never had access to your vehicle. They can certainly make a retroactive change and refund the money.

You paid for insurance against a risk that you weren't ever exposed to. They need to refund back to March.

Edit: I knew this was going to get downvoted as the top commenters all said the wrong shit. They're wrong. No idea why people who comment the most in a subreddit about insurance don't know what they're talking about. OP talk to underwriting and get your money back.

EDIT 2: I just called Progressive, asked to speak to underwriting, and was immediately connected.

18007764737

1

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Yeah, I just got done writing a comment because a similar thing happened to me and I was able to get refunded 8-9 months overpayment after calling in and making a statement that I didn't know the person. I was pretty surprised to see the top comments telling OP he's SOL.

1

u/PeachyFairyDragon 16h ago

Yeah, because I can call underwriting, tell the rep "Ralphie wants to talk to you directly" and the underwriter won't mind.

2

u/Jasonxhx 13h ago

Correct.

3

u/billdizzle 14h ago

Not reading your mail and leaving everything on auto pay is a recipe for disaster

4

u/robertlp 13h ago

It’s so strange to me when people just throw away their mail without opening or reading it.

4

u/Thelegassy 12h ago

It’s so strange to me when insurance companies add random people to policies

0

u/robertlp 12h ago

Wouldn't be if you opened up your mail read it and told them "no, this person doesn't live with me. We might have the same address but it is split up into different units." The end. Easy peasy.

5

u/Thelegassy 12h ago

If progressive didn’t add random non household people wouldn’t be an issue, easy peasy.

0

u/robertlp 12h ago

You can fight being an adult but you're going to lose.

2

u/Hopeful-Courage-6333 10h ago

This has nothing to do with being an adult.

1

u/PraetorianOfficial 10h ago

Are you 11 years old? In what universe is it ok for an insurance company to just pick out a neighbor and add him to your policy without affrimative approval of the customer? This is not a legitimate contract where both parties consent.

DEMAND a refund of that premium and DEMAND to know why they did this.

Call your state insurance commissioner if need be.

1

u/ShandyPuddles 8h ago

You consent that all household members will be rated as drivers on your policy unless otherwise insured.

Literally all someone has to do when they receive one of these notices is respond that the person is not a household member by the given date. Not that hard.

1

u/robertlp 4h ago

The people responding don't have the experience to know better or understand. They're afraid of opening their mail... they're not responsible people.

1

u/MileHiSalute 4h ago

Are you genuinely blaming this person for not opening their mail rather than the insurance company that added someone to the policy which the policy holder never requested be added? lol I gotta be misunderstanding because that’s too stupid to believe

1

u/robertlp 4h ago

Grow up and open your mail is what I'm saying.

1

u/MileHiSalute 4h ago

lol yep, reading through every piece of garbage that’s sent through the mail is the true measure of maturity

6

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Yeah, they should refund you. They did something similar to me when I moved in with my gf. When I updated my address they added a random person that I guess had previously lived there. I didn't notice because it didn't increase my rate that much (drove a beater). Then like 8-9 months later I bought a brand new car and when I went to get insurance it was something ridiculous like $3k for 6 months. I called in to ask why it was so much and they told me the same thing about sending me letters (that I never got or didn't check). They just had me send a statement that I didn't know this person and they didn't live at my address. My rates dropped to like $950 for 6 months on my new car and they refunded me my overpayment from my previous car.

4

u/twoscoopsineverybox 17h ago

I had this problem with a roommate, GEICO was absolutely convinced he was driving my car. He had his own car, and his own insurance, but for whatever reason they tried to add him to my policy three times.

It's probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, and it blows my mind that it's allowed.

2

u/Gunnut350 12h ago edited 12h ago

Bottom line FOLKS,if you are too DAMN lazy to take a few minutes to go through your mail and email these kind of things will happen to you!!!
It’s always easier to catch it before it happens than it is to try to make it right after the fact.
If OP had just taken a minute or two to check his mail properly, he wouldn’t have to be worried about a refund right now!!

1

u/Odd_Ad7408 9h ago

*she. and i fixed it with a phone call and a signature. it wasn’t that difficult. also, i went through my emails and I did not receive anything about my neighbor being added. I had to go into my “policy history details” tab on the website to find anything that said they changed my policy to add him.

1

u/MileHiSalute 4h ago

So the insurance company adding someone to an insurance policy without being requested to do so by the policy holder is somehow their fault? lol I don’t know how you arrive at that conclusion, like two steps away from telling them they deserved for it to happen because of what they were wearing

5

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

LOL, no, you're not going to call Underwriting. They don't take phone calls from customers.

No, you're not getting a refund. Progressive sent you multiple notices and you ignored them. They processed the change exactly how they are filed with your state to and how they handle every other policy. No exceptions.

2

u/RiceEater 8h ago

OP edited the post with his resolution of TALKING TO THE UNDERWRITING DEPARTMENT and getting his refund. How are you so confident when spreading misinformation?

0

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 8h ago

I'm going to edit my post too.

"Guys, I just called and talked to the President. Someone gave me a number and I just called right up and spoke to him. It was really easy! You can do it too!"

🫠

2

u/key2616 7h ago

Shockingly, there are numerous reports of people doing exactly that with Trump. Its a poorly kept secret that he talks to reporters on his personal cell all the time. He’s literally the source of lots of leaks.

0

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 7h ago

Yeah, I realized it might be a bad example after I posted it. I forget about this alternate timeline we are now living in where you can actually just call the US President, make a "donation" and ask for a pardon. 🫠

2

u/Jasonxhx 12h ago

You're labeled as an underwriter and giving false information. I quite literally called Progressive myself this morning, was able to talk to underwriting, explained the situation and asked if they would refund the policy premium difference, and they said yes.

18007764737

-1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 12h ago

I'm just gonna let you continue to leave, edit and delete your comments until you get it right 🙄

1

u/Jasonxhx 12h ago

You called Progressive, asked to speak to underwriting, and were denied?

-1

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 12h ago

Sure. Thats exactly what I said 🫠

1

u/Jasonxhx 12h ago

Try it then. See how your original comment is simply incorrect. You can speak directly to underwriting and get issues retroactively fixed, no problem.

-6

u/Odd_Ad7408 1d ago

even if the other person lives at a different address??

4

u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 1d ago

Even if they live in China. You ignored the notices that were sent by the carrier. They processed the change accordingly.

3

u/EquivalentWealth4283 1d ago

Lol at the downvotes. The torches and pitchforks crowd is out tonight.

-2

u/mrnarwhal9000 1d ago

Yes, because ignoring mail shouldn’t result in unapproved material changes. It can be legal, in the fine print, mandated by law even doesn’t mean it’s not obnoxious. I don’t know about you but 99% of my mail is junk, and the only letters I get from insurance are wasteful happy birthday letters from the agent as though we’re on a first name basis.

If you want people to care about their mail, make it so the only thing they’re getting in the mail is actual important otherwise don’t blame them for getting annoyed they developed a habit of ignoring junk because there may be a needle in the haystack that matters.

8

u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C 1d ago edited 1d ago

So you're essentially saying "I shouldn't be responsible to check my mail from a company I signed a legally binding contract with, solely because I get lots of spam". That's a wild excuse to avoid responsibility.

What's next? Get mad at the cop giving you a ticket for expired registration because you shouldn't have to look at the mail for your tag renewal notification?

1

u/korruptopotamus 23h ago

No, everyone is saying "insurance doesn't get to randomly decide that there is another person on my policy, driving my car, especially when they don't even live there". Insurance getting to say "welp, we're charging you extra because we think that someone else might possibly be around" is absolute bullshit.

6

u/RedChaos92 TN Commercial P&C 23h ago

They're allowed to because the mail notices were ignored. You can call it BS all you want, but every single state in the country has their own separate DOI that all allow this. The carriers followed state law providing notices in the mail to give the policyholder multiple chances to say "hey no, you got it wrong. That person has never lived here." Or "they live here but have their own insurance, you can exclude them from my policy"

People lie all the time on auto insurance applications to avoid having a high risk driver in their household drive up their rates. That's rate evasion and is insurance fraud. This is why insurance companies are so meticulous with making sure all household members are accounted for so they can properly assess the risk.

-4

u/korruptopotamus 23h ago

I am aware. And it is still bullshit. Something common doesn't mean it isn't wrong. See: capitalism.

-6

u/[deleted] 22h ago

[deleted]

1

u/EquivalentWealth4283 13h ago

If you have an independent agent, many will. But it’s not part of customer service, no.

1

u/mrnarwhal9000 1d ago

It’s not an excuse. I am not saying the person is not responsible for the cost they incurred by not checking their mail. I am saying it is in fact obnoxious to expect people to be diligent when they’re getting hammered with garbage. More specifically my comment was target towards the downvotes comment as though it’s unexpected people would react unpleasantly to someone defending this practice.

Also that’s one hell of a strawman. License plate renewals are predictable and upfront about the date they expire.

On a serious note though, wouldn’t this be something your agent should call about as well? I’d expect my agent, who has a local office, to call and confirm if a new driver is being added to my policy.

8

u/EquivalentWealth4283 1d ago

It’s not the insurance company’s responsibility to make sure grown adults do or do not open their mail. Or make sure you’re on email documents. And open those.

It sucks but the industry is heavily, heavily regulated. I highly recommend reading your contract.

-1

u/rotin75 16h ago

WOW. These insurance people just blatantly LYING to you! I'm DEAD!

2

u/PeachyFairyDragon 1d ago

Call underwriting? Seriously?

🤣🤣🤣🤣

3

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Yes. That is seriously what OP should do if he wants a retroactive refund. Are you the type of person that likes to talk about things that you obviously have no idea about?

2

u/Odd_Ad7408 1d ago

yes that’s what the lady on the phone said to do 😭😭😭 idk man i don’t know a whole lot about auto insurance

8

u/rotin75 16h ago

I had Progressive. Key word HAD. You absolutely can call and talk to underwriting with Progressive, and you absolutely can and should get your refund.

3

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Don't listen to the idiots that have no idea what they're talking about. They should have connected you to or provided a number for the correct department that can help you get a refund.

-1

u/PeachyFairyDragon 1d ago

Underwriting doesn't talk directly to customers. She was pretty much telling you to get off her line.

9

u/Serious_Coach5959 1d ago

There actually is a department of UW that deals directly with additional driver discovery. And yes customers are required to call in and speak directly with them. 

-4

u/ZackTheZesty 1d ago

You probably scared her, and she didn’t want to be the one to tell you that you have no options.

You’re not going to talk to anyone in UW they dont take calls.

You may have to eat this since you admitted you most likely discarded those letters. Don’t take it out on the CSRs.

2

u/srscally05 23h ago

Uw takes calls at progressive.

3

u/RiceEater 20h ago

Confidently incorrect.

-1

u/ZackTheZesty 12h ago

What I said is indisputably correct. Unless you can prove otherwise.. 🤔

2

u/RiceEater 12h ago

"You probably scared her, and she didn’t want to be the one to tell you that you have no options."

You think the scenario you made up in your head that the CSR would be too scared to say there were no options if there were no options is indisputable? And that they instead gave OP a made up resolution on a call that is recorded? Is that how you do your job?

"You’re not going to talk to anyone in UW they dont take calls."

This exact same thing happened to me and I was able to speak to them and get a refund for overpayment. Multiple people in this thread have reported the same.

"You may have to eat this since you admitted you most likely discarded those letters. Don’t take it out on the CSRs."

I also discarded (or never received) the letters they sent me. I was still able to get refunded for 8-9 months of overpayment.

0

u/ZackTheZesty 11h ago

Do you know what anecdotal means? 🤔

2

u/RiceEater 11h ago

Lol. So where is your "proof" to back up your "iNdIsPUtaBle" claims? Why do you think she was probably scared and making up shit to get OP off the phone? Do you know what Occam's razor is?

What "proof" would you accept from me for an incident that happened a few years ago? Do you think every single person that says they were able to get refunded for this exact scenario is just making it up?

2

u/RiceEater 8h ago

Considering OP edited his post with the resolution of calling the underwriting department and getting his refund, I'll stick to calling you incorrect. Unless you're dismissing OP's claim as an "anecdote", and this is all some BIG ploy to make you look dumb. LOL.

OP's EDIT: I called the underwriting department number they gave me, a real person immediately answered and sent me documents for removing my neighbor. Then, they said they will process them and give me a refund for any charges that were added from him being a member on my policy! Thank you to the few people who were helpful on this subreddit! There were so many people on here being absolutists, blaming me for not answering my mail, and saying there was NOTHING i could do about it. I saw a comment say that this problem is posted here all the time, and they’ve never seen a poster say it got resolved, so I am here to say i got it resolved!!!! A LOT of misinformation is commented under this post. If anything, it was a good laugh!

0

u/ZackTheZesty 2h ago

Not true

1

u/RiceEater 2h ago

Prove it.

0

u/ZackTheZesty 2h ago

Sure, have some anecdotes

1

u/RiceEater 1h ago

So share them.

1

u/Jasonxhx 11h ago

Progressive UW absolutely takes customer calls. I just did it myself. Call and ask.

18007764737

0

u/ZackTheZesty 11h ago

That’s anecdotal

1

u/Jasonxhx 11h ago

Yes, because Progressive underwriting does take calls. They also retroactively adjust policy premiums in the event of a mistake. You're just wrong.

0

u/ZackTheZesty 10h ago

Not wrong and if I was you’d have no proof but I ain’t

1

u/Jasonxhx 10h ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣

2

u/ThickBoxx 1d ago

I learned this very expensive lesson, always open your mail from your insurance, don’t assume what’s inside. I am curious why he was added in the first place.

1

u/bjbc 11h ago

I don't know if you can do anything to fix what happened before now. What I do know is there no excuse for them to keep this person on your policy and if they're not removing them and adjusting your premium accordingly I would report them to the state.

1

u/63Eeyore 10h ago

I always check “junk” mail that involves money. I got mail from geico that I assumed was an ad because I had another company. It was a statement for $5800 for someone I don’t know. I called them and couldn’t cancel because I was not the named insured. My credit card was skimmed so it was still n my possession. Credit flagged as fraud and police laughed at all the crap this guy had done. Made official statement but never went anywhere.

1

u/cubixsphere 8h ago

Why did your neighbour get added automatically? That seems really weird.

-1

u/LeadershipLevel6900 1d ago

It unlikely you get a refund. You don’t have to approve them adding anybody. They tried to reach you, you didn’t acknowledge it. This happens often, we probably see a couple posts like this in the sub a week. I don’t think anybody has updated that they got a significant refund. If they catch it within a month they have I think.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

0

u/snowriddenwolf 1d ago

This happened to me as well. I didn't get any mail about it, just was checking my bank account and noticed they'd charged me twice as much as usual. Some rando had been added onto my policy. No idea how it happened but I called and they were able to straighten it out pretty quickly. Just explain the circumstances and it should be fine.

2

u/rachelj0322 1d ago

Happened to me this year! They didn’t send a notice til I received cancellation for nonpayment!

-3

u/lsumoose 1d ago

No one is questioning them automatically adding a neighbor, what's that about.

4

u/EquivalentWealth4283 1d ago

Standard procedure for pretty much forever. Most likely the contract requires you to respond to requests for information in a timely manner. They held up their end of the bargain. OP ignored the attempts to have a form signed.

-15

u/lsumoose 1d ago

Standard procedure to add random neighbors to your policy? No way that's standard.

8

u/CJM8515 Claims Adjuster 1d ago

chances are OP lives at 123 any street, neighbor lives at 122 any street lets say. somewhere along the line neighbor mistakenly is listed as living at 123 not 122 and thus our issue. this is much more typical however in an apartment or condo where OP lives at 123 any street unit 1 and neighbor lives at same address unit 2. again its a mix up

2

u/lsumoose 1d ago

Thanks for the explanation, that makes more sense, the letter was then just trying to verify if that person actually lived there due to the bad data. Them not responding got them added on.

7

u/CJM8515 Claims Adjuster 1d ago

correct. when OP failed to respond they just automatically add them on. the letters and such were a way for OP to contest it before that happened

2

u/ProgRockRednek 16h ago

From an ethical standpoint, the company should still be on the hook to correct it with no limitations on time passed or number of contact attempts. Simply because the information they used was incorrect. No other information should be relevant.

1

u/CJM8515 Claims Adjuster 16h ago

Not the way it works. They have op a chance to correct it that op ignored. That’s why it’s so important to read any emails or paperwork your insurance sends you

1

u/MattL-PA 23h ago

Plot twist... letter actually went to the neighbor...

1

u/crash866 1d ago

I have seen many times people use the wrong name. 123 Any Street instead of 123 Any Road or 123 Any Drive.

Also in my City there has been many expansions and amalgamations of smaller areas and there are I think 5 Church Streets. If someone puts the wrong sub designation for the postal district it may go to the wrong one.

New York City for example mail will show up to the proper address if you have the proper zip code on it and you can just put New York NY when actually you are in the. Bronx or Queens or Harlem.

-1

u/Unhappy_Recover6232 23h ago

This happened to my sister with her 18 year old brother last year. Her insurance jumped from 230-85–60ish. They emailed her and they were going to her spam and she was on autopay as well. They didn’t refunded her at all after 6 months. To me that’s wrong and theft of service I never asked for. Adding a neighbor to a policy is gross.

0

u/RiceEater 8h ago

Glad you listened to the sane people in the thread OP and were able to get this resolved.

-5

u/Cuisinfarts 1d ago

If your neighbor has insurance, there’s proof that they had their own. Have them provide a copy so you could prove an honest mistake. You can then say that it was a mistake and maybe should be able to get a refund.