The insurer has filed a lawsuit worth $6.6 million against 47 durable medical supply companies and their owners.
Allstate has just filed a new insurance fraud lawsuit in order to help to recover $6.6 million in treble damages against 80 defendants throughout the states of New York and Florida.
The insurer is not new to this type of filing, as it is the fourth that it has made since the start of the year.
The insurance fraud lawsuit filing was also the 48th that Allstate has made since 2003, in New York, alone. Among those suits, the company has sought over $237 million in damages. In this particular case, it has alleged that 31 different durable medical retail equipment companies, as well as the 28 individuals who allegedly own at least one of those retail businesses, as well as 16 durable medical wholesale companies and their 5 owners, had submitted or participated in the submission of misleading and fraudulent bills and other support documentation to the insurer in order to be reimbursed under the no-fault law in New York.
Insurance fraud is rampant in the no-fault system in the state and is costing New Yorkers millions each year.
This, according to data from the Insurance Information Institute (III). This means that regular, hardworking people in the state are essentially paying an insurance fraud tax, said Allstate spokesperson, Allison McMahon. She added that “We need lawmakers to enact meaningful insurance reform that puts the citizens of New York first.”
Allstate is not alone in its pursuit of comprehensive reform to the no-fault system in New York. Other insurers are also keen to help to put a stop to the massive levels of insurance fraud going on in that state. McMahon said that “The no-fault system is being exploited and responsible citizens are the victims.” She added that “Without the support of lawmakers, incidents of fraud will continue to increase. We need to work together this legislative session to fix the broken no-fault system.”
Until such reforms occur, it is likely that insurers, such as Allstate, will continue to have to carefully monitor instances of insurance fraud, as much as possible, and use the court systems to help to receive compensation.
