Perhaps due to the recent economic downturn, it seems that more and more individuals choose fraudulent insurance claims as a means for padding their pocketbooks. In addition to familiar schemes such as setting fire to property to collect on property insurance claims, other individuals develop intricate methods for defrauding insurers through bogus health and accident insurance claims.
Fraudulent insurance claims result in high costs for everyone, from the insurance companies that sustain massive financial losses to the policyholders who pay ever-increasing premiums to offset those losses. In just one 2011 incident described by Insurance Journal, Allstate Insurance alleged that five New York medical professional corporations used names of licensed medical physicians to incorporate and then defrauded Allstate to the tune of $5 million in false claims.
However, out-of-control insurance fraud also leads to significant concerns for law-abiding medical practitioners and injury victims who can suffer extensive delays and non-payment of valid claims by insurers. On the one hand, no-fault insurance coverage helps avoid litigation by significantly reducing the need to establish liability in a claim. On the other hand, even large well-known insurance companies view every claim with skepticism, often over-investigating valid claims and refusing and reducing payment to physicians and injury victims. Issues like these lead New York insurance law attorneys to initiate litigation even though no-fault insurance law attempts to avoid it.
Whether you are a physician seeking payment for the treatment of auto accident injuries or an injury victim unable to receive full and fair compensation for a valid claim, never assume no-fault insurance law prevents you from taking legal action. The insurance law attorneys at Licatesi Law Group, LLP have extensive experience in arbitration and litigation in both civil and district courts.
