Automobile Claims Up 39% From 2009-2017 While Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claims Double; Life Insurance Claims Fell 20%; Homeowner Claims Rose 80%, Hidden By Hurricane-Related Claims

 

The Insurance Litigation report showcases data and trends involving disputes between an insurer and a policyholder, a beneficiary, or another insurer asserting the rights of a policyholder. The report includes analytics from both the broad Insurance data set as well as five common insurance types: Automobile, Homeowners, Life, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM) and Business Liability.

The report shows that insurance case filings have remained relatively steady from 2009 to 2017 (down 8.6%), while certain policy types showed distinct filing trends:

• Automobile case filings increased 39% during this time period while UM/UIM filings doubled. These increases are likely due to increasing medical costs related to these claims, which enabled them to meet Federal Court jurisdictional requirements.
• Cases involving homeowner insurance claims fluctuated widely during 2009 to 2017, with large peaks caused by hurricanes Ike (2008) and Sandy (2013). However, even when hurricane-related claims are removed, non-hurricane related homeowner case filings grew more than 90% in this time period.
• Life insurance policy claims decreased substantially (20%) during this period, despite a 14% increase in 2017.
• Other case filings (outside of those mentioned above), including commercial property, disability, long-term care, and other types of specialty coverage, increased by nearly 25% since 2009.

 

The report notes that four of the top five jurisdictions with the highest number of insurance cases are in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, primarily due to the high volume of hurricane-related cases. Similarly, four of the top five judges overseeing insurance cases are in the Middle District of Louisiana, and the fifth in Texas. When hurricane data is removed, the leading jurisdictions shift dramatically – further highlighting the power of analytics for venue selection.

In addition, the report also compares variations in insurance case timings in four major metropolitan areas: the Southern District of Texas (S.D. Tex.), the Central District of California (C.D. Cal.), the Northern District of Illinois (N.D. Ill.), and the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.). C.D. Cal had the fastest median times to reach summary judgment (343 days) and trial (493 days). In contrast, S.D. Tex. had the longest median time to trial (672 days) but the shortest median time to termination (207 days).

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