Allstate lawsuit charges 17 car accidents were staged
Oct 20, 2008
South Florida Sun-Sentinel--October 18, 2008
Allstate is suing more than 70 companies and individuals in Miami-Dade County for allegedly staging 17 car accidents and filing insurance claims for them.
The suit was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The defendants include auto body shops, tow-truck companies, chiropractors and people apparently posing as drivers and passengers. Allstate expects to ask for more than $1.5 million in damages and attorneys’ fees.
Insurance fraud accounts for about $30 billion a year — or 10 percent — of the insurance industry’s property and casualty losses, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Miami has been among the national leaders in staged auto accidents.