In South Carolina in 2025, Big Insurance Corporations have launched an unprecedented effort to make it harder for individual consumers to recover from their insurance companies when bad things happen to them. Conservatives need to stand up and call their legislators to make their voices heard.
In South Carolina in 2025, Big Insurance Corporations have launched an unprecedented effort to make it harder for individual consumers to recover from their insurance companies when bad things happen to them. Conservatives need to stand up and call their legislators to make their voices heard.
A federal judge rejected Geico’s attempt to shut down a lawsuit that says the insurer owes $69.7mn in unpaid business license taxes and penalties to the Municipal Association of South Carolina.
The association represents almost every municipality in the state and runs an insurance tax program that charges 2% of gross premiums on property and casualty policies.
Insurers owe the tax by May 31 each year, and any shortfall racks up a 5% penalty that hits monthly, even for partial months.
As part of the process, insurers need to file reconciliation reports. Those confirm their gross premium numbers and show what they actually owe each municipality.
According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division, Geico paid on time but didn’t file those reconciliation reports for seven years.
Multiple reminders didn’t change anything. Payments landed, but the association argues the numbers didn’t match what Geico should have owed.
The suit claims Geico underpaid taxes for license years 2021 through 2024 by €30.3mn, with penalties stacking up to €39.4mn. Big hit, if the court agrees.
Geico pushed for dismissal. The company said the association overreached its authority because only municipalities can collect delinquent taxes. The judge didn’t buy it. Municipal ordinances and contracts handed that authority to the association, so the group sits well within bounds.
The insurer also insisted the complaint rested on speculation, pointing out the association admitted payments arrived on time.
But the court said it must accept well-pleaded allegations at this stage, including the claim that Geico still didn’t pay the correct amount. No reconciliation reports, no verified numbers.
Geico attempted another line of defense, arguing a three year statute of limitations blocked most of the claims. The court explained the clock starts when a reasonable person would know an injury occurred. That could have been June 2021, maybe.
Yet the judge said Geico couldn’t use that argument because a statute of limitations doesn’t run if a defendant’s conduct delays the filing of a lawsuit.
Geico repeatedly said those missing reports were coming, so the association paused legal action. That pause tolls the clock. No luck for the insurer on that front.
Discovery now runs through Dec. 16. Geico didn’t comment, which isn’t shocking in a fight like this. Honestly, according to our analysts, this case feels like it’s heading into a long grind, and maybe Geico hoped to end it early. Not happening.
