Georgia Gov. Kemp wants to limit lawsuits. But would that keep insurance rates from rising?

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday reiterated his simple pitch for lawsuit limits: They’ll halt rising insurance costs.

The reality, though, is more complicated.

Changes could reduce liability insurance costs for businesses and commercial property owners. The evidence is mixed on whether it would drive large premium reductions for car and other types of insurance. Some researchers say efforts limiting lawsuits, often called tort reform, fattens insurers’ profits more than it cuts the price of policies.

The issue is Kemp’s top priority this year. His proposals include reevaluating Georgia’s rules on what makes businesses liable for injuries on their property, making sure people seek compensation only for medical expenses they paid themselves, and preventing lawyers from throwing irrelevant numbers at jurors to seek higher damages.

“Grocery stores, hospitals, road pavers, small business owners, truckers, restaurants, mom and pop stores, retailers, gas stations, doctors, childcare facilities, and hardworking Georgians across our state are all telling us the same thing: Georgia needs tort reform and we need it now,” Kemp said at a news conference.

He says insurance rates are increasing because unfair lawsuits are on the rise and juries are awarding excessive damages.

He also proposed several structural changes to the litigation process and wants to make sure juries know whether someone wore a seatbelt in a car crash and if third party funders were involved, which other states did last year.

Are unfair lawsuits and big jury awards real problems?

Some say there’s no evidence that a nationwide litigation crisis is driving high insurance rates.

“I went in search of the data, and I have not found it,” said Kenneth Klein, a professor at California Western School of Law. “It’s not to say it isn’t happening. It’s to say we cannot document it.”

But Mike Iverson of Oakbridge Insurance and former president of the Independent Insurance Agents Association said insurance companies like predictability when determining rates and how to spread out losses. Some are pulling out of certain kinds of liability coverage, making it tougher for businesses to get.

In a well-known case, a jury awarded a man almost $43 million after a shooting in a CVS parking lot in Atlanta, arguing the company should have strengthened security. In another case, a Jonesboro mobile home park was ordered to pay $31 million to the daughter of a man who was shot and killed there.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King said that business owners in areas that insurers label as high crime are among those struggling the most. Apartment owners also complain.

After promising the Georgia Chamber of Commerce he would take action, Kemp pushed a law to have King gather data in 2024.

Opponents note that few verdicts are that large and insurance companies are still profitable. They want lawmakers to demand more transparency on how they set rates.

“Whenever they want an excuse to raise rates or limit coverage they will always point to a verdict here and there and make all kinds of claims about how it’s affecting their bottom line,” said Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School.

Studying how tort reform impacts premiums in other states is difficult because other factors are in play and there are different combinations of reform. Some saw benefits, but the research varies on how much insurance companies pass savings down to consumers.

A common change is caps on noneconomic damages, which is not a part of Kemp’s package. The Georgia Supreme Court in 2010 ruled that caps violate the state constitution.

What drives rates?

Other factors that influence insurance rates include inflation, extreme weather, and the costs of labor and materials. It is normal for insurance markets to cycle through tough years where less coverage is offered as rates rise.

In many lines of coverage, including those not heavily impacted by lawsuits, insurers in 2022 were less profitable in Georgia than in several other states, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A spokesperson said over a longer period, though, nothing is abnormal about Georgia’s fluctuations.

King’s report, using mostly auto insurance data, says the number of claims and the size of resulting payments have risen over the years, especially those involving lawsuits. King also found that a greater percentage of legal claims are resulting in payments that hit the maximum dollar amount a policy covers.

The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, which lobbies against tort reform, disputes King’s conclusions.

Risk consultant David Stegall said the number of claims is in line with Georgia’s high number of car accidents. Both claims and payouts have mostly been stable or falling, especially when adjusted for population growth and inflation, he said.

He also found that while Georgia residents pay between 11% and 68% more for car insurance than residents of other states, they are more than 200% more likely to be in an accident.

Kemp said his proposals would still let Georgia residents hold businesses and doctors accountable for negligence. But defenders of the current system disagree.

“The governor says that limiting your right as a consumer will lower your insurance costs, but that is not only a bad idea for everyday citizens, it’s just not correct,” said Rep. Tanya Miller, and Atlanta Democrat.

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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.