# NY Court: Insurer Must Pay Cheats 

_News_

Canonical: https://www.claimspages.com/news/i841/

Insurers who catch a motorist trying to pad an auto injury claim still have to pay the valid portion of his bills even though he tried to defraud them, a New York appeals court has ruled.

The April 22 decision has drawn a protest and a call for reform legislation from Bernard Bourdeau, president of the New York Insurance Association in Albany, N.Y. He labeled the ruling "an open invitation" for fraud. 

The NYIA said a "loophole" in New York State‘s no-fault law had been revealed in the decision from the Appellate Division (Second Department) of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. 

"This ruling is another example of why fraud is rampant in New York‘s no-fault auto insurance system," said Mr. Bourdeau. "Reform cannot come soon enough."

Sources:
- National Underwriter (http://www.nationalunderwriter.com/pandc/hotnews/viewPC.asp?article=5_7_02_15_5067.xml)