Premiums Are Rising, and Insurers Say Lawsuits Are to Blame

But even as US property and casualty insurers reel from years of net underwriting losses, some consumer advocates and legal experts push back on the idea that the legal system is at fault. They say there’s a lack of data directly tying premiums to litigation rather than typical cycles in the business. And even if lawsuits are on the rise, they say, some may be legitimate claims by people who’ve no other recourse. Insurance companies “feel like they’re under siege by lawyers,” says Kenneth Klein, a professor at California Western School of Law who represents the perspective of consumers at meetings of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. “But the data case doesn’t support that.”