Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute, said legal abuse has made Georgia “the number one judicial hellhole" because of the negative impact on consumers.
“Consumers like you are getting less, and the big trial attorneys—the billboard attorneys—are getting more,” said Kevelighan. “They’re exploiting audiences, promising riches when in fact it’s just raising everyone's insurance costs.”
Insurance premiums across Georgia are climbing due to frequent, high-dollar lawsuits, often driven by trial lawyers using aggressive advertising campaigns, according to Kevelighan. "That's why we're hoping to see more legal reform in a state like Georgia that, unfortunately, has just been awarded the number one judicial hellhole."
In an effort to bring public awareness to the issue, the Insurance Information Institute has launched a campaign, including a billboard along Interstate 20 in Georgia. The billboard’s straightforward message reads, “Legal system abuse increases everyone’s insurance costs. Go to stoplegalsystemabuse.org if you want to learn how to take action.”
This latest initiative underscores the call for reforms that address excessive litigation costs, which many stakeholders argue undermine both consumer interests and the long-term viability of the state’s insurance market. With substantial economic implications on the line, tort reform advocates continue to push for policies to alleviate Georgia’s burden of legal system abuse.
According to Triple-I reports, insurance abuse costs each Georgian $1,372 annually and leads to over 137,000 job losses every year.
In 2022, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform reported that the American tort system cost $443 billion, equating to 2.1% of the U.S. GDP.