Premier Open MRI v Allstate Indemnity Company
Floridians Take Allstate Indemnity Company to Court Over Refusal to Pay for MRI Exams
A Florida class action has been filed against Allstate Indemnity Company and affiliate Deerbrook Insurance Company on behalf of insurance policyholders who allege that the companies wrongfully denied coverage for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams in violation of policyholders' personal injury protection (PIP) policies and Florida law. The action seeks payment or reimbursement of all MRI costs incurred by Florida-based imaging centers or Allstate's Florida policyholders during 2002 and 2003.
The action alleges that requests for reimbursement sent during the period to Allstate Indemnity or Deerbrook Insurance, which are both subsidiaries of Allstate Insurance, were routinely denied for the same stated reason: lack of medical necessity. The class plaintiffs are insureds of Allstate and Deerbrook who suffered automobile accidents and received MRI tests pursuant to orders of their treating physicians. The action alleges that these denials by Allstate and Deerbrook amount to second-guessing the medical need for MRIs, even though the MRIs were ordered by treating physicians and even though Allstate and Deerbrook are not licensed to practice medicine.
The claim is substantial, as MRI exams typically cost more than one thousand dollars each.
