Allstate Insurance has filed a lawsuit against a group of Florida policyholders and 13 companies, including body shops, tow truck operators and chiropractic clinics, accusing them of staging 17 car accidents and filing fraudulent claims.
The suit, filed this month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeks around $1.5 million in damages, the Miami Herald reported. The fraudulent claims, the suit alleges, include claims for damage to cars and also personal injury.
Allstate contends that the fraudulent medical claims filed in this case sought to exploit the $10,000 in coverage for medical expenses that comes with every Florida auto insurance policy, according to the Herald.
The insurance industry estimates that auto insurance fraud totals over $80 billion a year nationwide.