social inflation News

Viewpoint: The Need for Defensive Anchoring in Response to Rising Jury Damages

In 1989, I began practicing law as a civil defense attorney in Chicago. I had the privilege of working for a law firm and partner who allowed me to gain a wealth of litigation and trial experience as a young …

Swiss Re: Inflation Pushed P/C Claims Costs Up by as Much as 7.5%

High inflation alone led to an increase in property/casualty claims of 5-7.5%, across five key markets in 2022, according to Swiss Re research. “In 2023, we expect that inflation should lead to an additional increase of 3.5-6.5%,” said Swiss Re …

Report Says Social Inflation Adds Up to 11% to Physician Malpractice Claims

Social inflation accounts for 8 to 11 percent of all medical malpractice losses for carriers that insure physicians, according to an actuarial analysis commissioned by The Doctors Co. TDC hired Moore Actuarial Consulting to estimate how much insurers’ average losses …

Sedgwick: Attorneys Involved in Claims Sooner and More Often

Attorneys are involved in a growing share of insurance claims and they are being retained much sooner, Sedgwick said in a paper released Tuesday. The private claims administrator said its data shows that in 2021, attorneys were involved in about …

Actuaries: Social Inflation Increased Commercial Auto Claim Costs by $20B Over 10 Years

The insurance industry is ringing alarm bells about the cost of social inflation again, this time with the help of an actuarial analysis that concludes the phenomenon added more than $20 billion to the cost of commercial auto claims over …

Swiss Re: Litigation Funders Driving Social Inflation, ‘Outsize’ Verdicts

Swiss Re said in a report released Thursday that litigation funding has become a $17 billion industry globally, with 52% of that money being spent in the United States. The reinsurer said third-party litigation funding (TPLF) is increasing the number …

Refusal to Settle for $2M Costs Ace Nearly $8M in Suit by Excess Insurer

The defense team for Chubb Group’s Ace American Insurance Co. was confident that no jury would award more than $2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Mark Braswell, who died on May 16, 2014 when …

How COVID-19 Court Lockdowns May Turn the Social Inflation Tide

Defense attorney Ellen Greiper reported receiving more than the usual number of phone calls from plaintiffs attorneys earlier this month, suggesting that the call dynamics could be signaling a COVID-driven change in social inflation trends. “I have had a flurry …

‘Powerful Predictiveness’ May Be Key to Reversing Commercial Auto Losses

The future cannot come too soon for commercial auto. Despite growing premiums, the commercial auto line hasn’t turned an underwriting profit for the past nine years as both the number and cost of claims exceeded expectations. Tech companies are pitching …