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Insurer wins coverage dispute over IVF genetic testing fraud claims - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Insurer wins coverage dispute over IVF genetic testing fraud claims by Richard Sine Claims Disputes , E&O , General liability Berkshire Hathaway May 18, 2026 A specialty insurer does not have to defend a fertility genetics firm against a class action lawsuit alleging that it misled patients about the accuracy of a controversial embryo screening test, a federal judge in Illinois ruled last week. In Landmark American Insurance Co. v. Reproductive Genetics Institute Inc., U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah ruled Thursday that neither of the two coverage provisions in Landmark’s policy applied to the underlying lawsuit, which accused the Reproductive Genetics Institute of false and deceptive advertising of genetic testing. Landmark, an Atlanta, Georgia-based unit of Berkshire Hathaway, issued a combined general liability and medical professional liability policy to RGI, a Northbrook, Illinois-based embryo storage laboratory. When a class action plaintiff sued RGI in 2024, alleging consumer fraud and misrepresentation in the marketing of its genetic testing services, RGI sought coverage from Landmark. Landmark denied the claim and sought a ruling that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify RGI. The court agreed on both counts. On the medical professional liability side, Judge Shah found that the lawsuit was fundamentally about advertising and marketing, not the provision of embryo storage. “Consumer claims involving misrepresentation in promotion do not arise out of an act in the rendering or failure to render an embryo storage lab service,” he wrote. “The risk of conducting one’s business in a deceptive and fraudulent manner is not one inherent in the practice of embryo storage.” RGI had argued that the complaint briefly referenced the performance of professional services, but the court rejected that approach, noting that “allegations cannot be read in isolation; they must be reviewed in the context of the entire complaint.” On the general liability side, RGI argued that allegations about the unnecessary loss of embryos constituted bodily injury. Judge Shah said “the underlying lawsuit does not allege that any purported class members actually lost embryos as a result of RGI’s PGT-A testing,” so the plaintiff’s alleged injuries “are entirely financial in nature.” RGIs is one of several labs facing class-action lawsuits over the use of PGT-A, in which embryos are tested for genetic abnormalities before implantation in the womb. Plaintiffs say they paid thousands of dollars for a test that often results in false positives, leading patients to discard viable embryos. The lab may have had a coverage gap, Geoffrey Fehling, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth, who was not involved in the case, said in an email. “Directors and officers insurance policies often cover claims for alleged fraud and other torts like those asserted against the lab, especially for reimbursement of legal fees incurred to defend the lawsuit.” RGI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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