In a June 9 opinion piece, the Wall Street Journal editorial board stated that two factors contributing to rising car insurance costs are a decline in traffic safety enforcement and an increase in "litigation abuse" from plaintiff attorneys.
"The progressive anti-police movement has reduced traffic enforcement, resulting in more reckless driving and accidents," said the editorial board. "Deaths from alcohol-related crashes have risen by a third since 2019 even as arrests for driving under the influence and traffic citations have fallen 20%. Effect, meet cause. Litigation abuse is also growing as plaintiff firms sue insurers for inflated damages."
Georgia drivers are paying an average of $2,554 annually for full coverage car insurance, higher than the national average of $2,311, according to a report from Bankrate. Atlanta drivers pay 12% more than the statewide average.
Nationwide, the cost of car insurance has risen 46.2% since January 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal. While some politicians are pointing to climate change and corporate greed as the cause of rising insurance costs, the "actual culprit" is a combination of inflation, lawsuit abuse, and "government-made" issues such as a lack of traffic safety enforcement. These factors are leading to rising insurance costs and pushing some insurers out of markets, leaving residents with fewer options.
According to a report from TRIP (The Road Information Program), the number of traffic fatalities in Georgia increased by 20% between 2019 and 2022, even though the amount of vehicle travel decreased by 4% during that time period. Traffic accidents and fatalities cause a "significant economic burden," including through legal and court costs and administrative insurance costs. Serious and fatal traffic accidents in Georgia in 2022 resulted in an estimated $26 billion in economic costs. A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that after the onset of the pandemic, some drivers began engaging in risky driving behaviors such as failure to wear seatbelts, speeding, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Current Georgia law does not require adults in the backseat of vehicles to wear seatbelts, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In recent years, legislative efforts to mandate seatbelt usage for backseat passengers have failed to advance.