State Investigating Insurance Companies Over Settlement Complaints

NEW HAVEN (AP) — The state Insurance Department is investigating the settlement practices of two insurance companies, following lawsuits that accuse the insurers of violating state law.

Civil claims in Superior Court allege Progressive Northwestern Insurance Co. and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. settled personal injury claims within a few days of car accidents.

State law requires a 15-day waiting period, so claimants can assess injuries and property damage before agreeing to a settlement payoff from an insurer.

Connecticut lawyers for both companies said Tuesday they cannot comment on pending litigation.

Insurance Department legal counsel Mark Franklin said he could not comment further on the investigation.

But lawyers are trying to get class-action status for their complaints after Progressive’s answers in court documents showed the 15-day rule may have been violated 816 times between February 1997 and February 2000.

New Haven lawyer Kenneth Bartlett said he also has asked Nationwide to provide answers about how many times the 15-day rule was not followed.

The lawsuits allege the insurers violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, and further accuses Progressive of a pattern of abuse.

“I would think with 800-odd times, that’s a pattern,” Bartlett said.

Both lawsuits seek more than $15,000 in damages and injunctions to prevent the companies from settling claims before the waiting period has ended.

One lawsuit claims Anna Rodriguez of New Haven was injured after an October 1999 car collision with a Progressive client. Two days after the collision, Rodriguez was home in bed when a Progressive adjuster visited her and manipulated her into signing a settlement contract for $1,500, the lawsuit claims. Rodriguez ended up spending about $8,000 for treatment of neck and shoulder injuries, her case claims.

“The company’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation,” said William Prout, a New Haven lawyer for Progressive.

Another lawsuit claims Nationwide “wrongfully and deceptively” convinced Dominick Diglio of East Haven to release the company of liability four days after a June 1999 collision.

Nationwide’s Hartford attorney, Deborah Freeman, declined to comment.