As insurance agents in Kentucky, we have seen it all and probably paid a claim on it at some point. That’s just the nature of our business as we help businesses and healthcare providers manage risks.
But what stuns our clients every day is the increasing costs of staying insured. Most businesses do the right thing by adding insurance to protect their operations and assets, but aggressive plaintiffs attorneys are driving up the cost of insurance and making it harder and harder for many to afford it.
That’s why Senator Craig Richardson has filed Senate Bill 195, to insert some balance and predictability back into the civil litigation system. Kentucky ranks among the least friendly environments for agents like us trying to sell protection plans to Kentucky families. Why? Because our civil litigation system is outdated and unfairly favors trial attorneys over Kentucky businesses and caregivers.
Ohio took action to improve its civil litigation system in the early 2000s and now Kentucky families pay 12-20% more for car insurance. Kentucky rates are driven up by a system that allows too many lawsuits to be filed by unaccountable plaintiffs, resulting in too high of payouts and too many third-party claimants. Unfortunately, as insurance agents, our time is sometimes pulled away from our customers to defend against this never-ending barrage of lawsuits.
Senator Richardson’s bill protects consumers by continuing to require insurance companies like ours to comply with the unfair claims settlement practices, but it rightly removes the ability of a third party, not related to the lawsuit, to file suit over violations they perceive occurred. This is just one commonsense component of a bill filled with many ways to modernize Kentucky’s outdated system.
Opponents will call this bill unconstitutional and unfair, but Senator Richardson has done the work, surveying countless stakeholders and attorneys to construct a constitutional and fair approach to getting at the root problem—Kentucky has a target on its back by plaintiffs attorneys who know our system is designed for them, not you.
Modernizing our civil litigation system is the way to create a fair, balance, predictable and efficient system that works for businesses and consumers. It’s time for Kentucky to work for everyone.
We enthusiastically support SB 195 and encourage everyone to consult with their insurance agents on how this will improve the environment for Kentucky families.
– Gross Insurance, David Gross and Nick Rolf
– Desmond Insurance, Shannon Desmond Walz and Tim Desmond
– Insurance Services of Northern Kentucky, Ken Wolterman and Jan Wolterman-Erschell
– Barnes Insurance, Jessica Koury and Monica Krummen
– Main Street Partners, Nick Carr
– Covenant Insurance Agency, Jim Claxton
– S. Cohen Insurance, Sean Cohen