No. Jury awards are covered by the insurance policy carried by the negligent company or professional. Even if a jury award is high, it is extremely rare for actual payment to the injured victim to exceed that policy limit. It should be no surprise that the insurance industry would prefer to pocket money that should go to victims. That is why the insurance industry is so anxious to pass “tort reform” laws, which allow it to reduce payments to victims. It is also why, since the 1950s, the insurance industry has tried to convince Americans that jury verdicts affect jurors’ pocketbooks through higher insurance premiums. They have also tried to argue that putting legal roadblocks in the way of injured people, i.e. “tort reform,” is the only way to reduce high insurance rates. None of this is true. Insurance companies make their money from investment income. Industry insiders have admitted over and over that insurance industry business practices, especially the investment cycle (fluctuations in the stock market and interest rates) are to blame for sharp ups and downs in insurance rates, not jury verdicts or the legal system.
