Quick Answer In New York, insurance companies can require you to attend an IME as a condition of continued No-Fault benefits. The IME doctor is selected and paid by the insurer. MAIC's clinical documentation is specifically designed to counter adverse IME findings with objective evidence.

What an IME Is

An IME is a one-time medical examination requested by your insurance carrier and performed by a physician selected and paid by the carrier. Its purpose is to produce a medical opinion that the carrier can use to limit or deny your benefits. The physician performing the IME typically sees you for 15 to 30 minutes — compared to the months of ongoing treatment your MAIC physicians provide.

Your Rights at an IME

  • You must attend when validly requested — failure to appear can suspend No-Fault benefits
  • You have the right to have your attorney or a representative present
  • You are not required to submit to painful examination procedures
  • You can bring a list of medications, diagnoses, and treating physicians
  • You should answer only what is asked — do not volunteer additional information

How MAIC Records Counter IME Findings

The IME physician's one-time examination is countered by MAIC's ongoing treating record: months of documented objective findings, serial range of motion measurements, imaging reports, and electrodiagnostic studies. An arbitrator or jury weighs 30 minutes of examination against a comprehensive longitudinal clinical record — and the treating record almost always wins when it is well-documented.

If your No-Fault benefits were cut off after an IME, call MAIC at (888) 991-5290 immediately.