Insurance Federation Launches Ad Campaign Shift to Comparative Fault Could Cost Consumers $150 million RALEIGH, N.C., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Federation of North Carolina launched radio ads statewide today to alert consumers that a change in how state courts handle accident and injury cases could cost them $150 million.
Shift to Comparative Fault Could Cost Consumers $150 million
RALEIGH, N.C., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Federation of North Carolina launched radio ads statewide today to alert consumers that a change in how state courts handle accident and injury cases could cost them $150 million.
"We just want to make sure consumers know that if legislators make this change, it is very likely to cost them more," said Jennifer Cohen, the executive director of the Insurance Federation. "At a time when many North Carolinians are struggling to make ends meet, we don't think this is the time or place to do that."
HB 813 has passed the N.C. House and is pending in the N.C. Senate. It would let dramatically more people file lawsuits in North Carolina by shifting from the contributory negligence system our courts use to decide accident and injury cases to a system known as comparative fault.
In a study conducted in February for the N.C. Rate Bureau, actuaries at EPIC Consulting LLC found that auto-insurance rates would almost certainly rise if the state abandons its current system.
"A shift to any form of comparative negligence in North Carolina will increase the number of injured parties eligible to recover damages. More claimants recovering benefits necessarily means higher insurance costs," they said.
"Increased benefits and increased beneficiaries translate directly into increased insurance costs and increased insurance rates," the actuaries concluded.
Based on the experiences of neighboring states, the actuaries found that auto insurance costs in North Carolina could rise 3 to 16 percent if the state adopts comparative fault. They projected a likely rate increase of at least 5 percent.
More information is available online at www.dontraisemyinsurance.com.
The Insurance Federation of North Carolina represents the leading property and casualty insurance companies doing business in North Carolina. IFNC serves as the voice for the property and casualty insurance industry on legislative and regulatory matters and promotes consumer awareness of issues of importance to the property and casualty insurance policyholders in the State.
SOURCE Insurance Federation of North Carolina