yes i told them it's aluminum and in conversation with my rep she is confident (as is the bodyshop) that it will be written up for a new hood eventually as it is not straigtenable - why they can't go there now i don't know

the interesting thing is that i think they (Prog) possess the knowledge to write a good estimate yet instead take the approach of writing for the bare minimum and then inch it up over future reestimates in the hope of saving money.

a slow bureaucractic approach - speaking to my bodyshop this is a pretty typical process for Progressive - you get there in the end but it is slow and there is very little empowerment at lower levels of their organization

now i am waiting til 1/25 for a slot at the shop for this minor piece of work :-)

seriously thanks for everyones help and for the insight on Progressive and Geico - i will know next time around :-) thankfully this is only a minor claim and no one got hurt

A

 

A friend of mine who works for Progressive told me, "Oh, never insure your car with Progressive! We deny everything!" She said the company originally started as a "high risk pool" insurer, for people who couldn't get insurance anywhere else. They seem to have retained the idea that their customers are a PITA they would rather not deal with, rather than being the ultimate source of their profit.

 

I've had friends deal with nightmares from Geico and Progressive. Cliche, you get what you pay for. Go USAA!