Insurance industry economic cycles, rather than litigation against insurers, are a larger cause of rate increases and non-renewals, according to a consumer advocacy organization responding to insurance industry lobbying against plaintiffs' litigation.
"Under the theory that the legal system has something to do with why hard markets kick in, one would have to believe that jury verdicts or trial lawyers have timed their 'aggression' or 'abuse' to precisely coincide with the insurance industry's economic cycle," stated Joanne Doroshow, executive director, Center for Justice & Democracy (CJD) at New York Law School, in an email response to questions. CJD is a national consumer organization dedicated to protecting the civil justice system.
Doroshow pointed out that the most recent hard market cycle for the industry, with rising rates, started in 2019 and "continued even through the pandemic, when courthouses were closed and there were no jury verdicts."
CJD's Doroshow stated that lawsuits against insurers are often legitimate and not a result of legal system abuse, as industry critics say. "No one wants to have to sue their insurance company. People sue because legitimate insurance claims are not being paid," Doroshow said. A 2020 CJD study said the industry was deceiving consumers in preparation for a crisis of skyrocketing rates. A 2023 CJD study said industry criticism of nuclear verdicts and jury grievance reports, "whitewash often egregious corporate malfeasance that led to these verdicts, dehumanize the experiences of those who have been hurt, and mock jurors who carefully make their decisions based on evidence presented by both sides of a case."
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The Center for Justice & Democracy is the only national consumer organization in the country exclusively dedicated to protecting our civil justice system. If you'd like more information, please contact us.
