Consumer Fraud Lawyer - American Medical Security Inc. Litigation

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP, along with co-counsel in Florida, successfully prosecuted a class action against American Medical Security, Inc. in the state court in West Palm Beach, Florida. We represented a class consisting of people who purchased "Affinity Group" health insurance policies from American Medical. We sued because American Medical was not treating the insurance policies as group policies but rather was re-underwriting each insured, each year, based on their medical condition. As a result, our clients and other class members who were ill faced substantial premium increases, sometimes double from the previous year. This often resulted in their being unable to afford coverage and hence they lost their health insurance.

We prevailed as to liability at trial. See Addison v. Am. Med. Sec., Inc., No. 00-01445 (AB), 2002 WL 1454102 (Fla. Cir. Ct. April 24, 2002). After extensive additional litigation concerning the damages owed to the class, the action was settled for a substantial recovery for the class.

This case illuminated the American Medical's unlawful underwriting practices. As a result, American Medical abandoned its practice throughout the United States of annually re-underwriting each Affinity group policy insured. We not only obtained relief for the plaintiffs and Florida class members in our case, we also prevented American Medical Affinity group policy holders throughout the country from experiencing massive rate increases and loss of their health insurance.