Legal Abuse — Triple-I on a Growing Insurance Problem

More and more groups and individuals are paying attention to legal system abuse by law firms pushing for huge damage awards. Third party lawsuits are also getting attention as courts and juries are giving out what are now termed, nuclear verdicts.

Many of them in millions of dollars for awards that ought to be in the thousands.

Weekly Industry News has written several stories on the problem and its impact on insurance.

The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) has been at the forefront of the battle to get more people and businesses aware. The Triple-I has picked Georgia as the first state to focus upon.

One reason why is because the American Tort Reform Association has tabbed Georgia as the worst judicial hellhole in the country. The state has seen more excessive damage awards than all the rest and has the most hostile legal environment in the country.

Sean Kevelighan is the Triple-I’s CEO. He said digital billboards are dotting the state and signs have been placed on transit vehicles designed to inform consumers, businesses and insurers of the problem.

“Our work aims to educate Georgians on how these legal practices increase their auto and home insurance costs and negatively impact everyone,” Kevelighan said and noted that attorneys and legal firms are exploiting legal loopholes and that exploitation is causing higher costs for everyone.

“In fact, this abuse costs each Georgian $1,372 per year and contributes to over 137,000 job losses annually,” he said. “We are committed to shedding light on these practices and advocating for comprehensive legislative reforms that address legal system abuse.”

Independent insurance agent, Rob Townley said Kevelighan is correct and noted costs have become inflated to the point where some insurance companies are wondering whether it’s worth doing business in Georgia.

“What people don't realize is insurance is very core to a functioning economy and if it gets to the point where our insurance companies do not want to be in the state then we get into a very bad situation economically,” he stated.

Source link: Triple I — https://www.iii.org/stoplegalsystemabuse

Triple-I white paper: https://bit.ly/48sjBRl

Kevelighan comments — https://bit.ly/48HRX33

Source link: Insurance Business America — https://bit.ly/48plRZC