Georgia’s governor has asked state lawmakers for $175 million to cover the growing costs of liability claims against state agencies and employees, as the state’s liability insurance fund has dwindled to a fraction of the outstanding costs.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, like many U.S. states, Georgia utilizes both self-insurance and commercial carriers to cover liability claims for 325 state agencies and 130,000 employees. But claims have soared by more than 300% in the last decade and are expected to rise further in coming years, according to news reports.
Claims range from vehicular damage from state roads to the death of young girls in foster care, to the deaths and injuries to inmates in state prisons. Gov. Brian Kemp also has proposed $600 million in safety and security upgrades in prisons.
The requests come as Kemp and property-casualty insurance groups launch a major push for tort reform legislation in the state. The Insurance Information Institute this month launched an advertising and awareness campaign all across the Atlanta area, blaming legal system abuse for rising costs.
Excessive lawsuits add an extra $1,415 per year to Georgians’ household expenses, Triple-I has estimated.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association also came out strongly in favor of the tort-reform legislation.
“It’s important to set the record straight about falsehoods being spread by the Georgia trial bar regarding insurance industry profitability,” APCIA’s Ron Jackson, vice president of state government relations, said in a statement. “Insurers in Georgia are losing money. This trend is particularly bad for personal auto insurers and all lines of liability coverage, which many businesses from truckers to doctors to restaurants and shops rely on.”
Jackson said Florida’s tort reforms and insurance claims litigation reforms in 2023 helped stabilize that state’s litigation environment and its property insurance market. “The proof is in the pudding,” he said.
Kemp and state legislative leaders introduced a comprehensive tort reform package last week that includes: elimination of double recovery of attorney fees; limits on and more transparency for third-party litigation funding; a new standard for premises liability; a limit on medical damages, which would limit them to actual medical expenses; limits on what juries can be told about a victim’s pain and suffering; allowing parties in suits to establish liability before damages are considered; introduction of evidence of seatbelt use in auto accidents; and other changes.
The governor’s press announcement can be seen here. The Georgia legislative session began Jan. 13 and runs through early April.