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.
South Carolina families and small businesses are being crushed by record insurance premium hikes, even as insurers post multi-billion-dollar profits and executives push lawmakers to limit consumer rights through so-called “tort reform.”
But the record from the state’s own Ad Hoc Insurance Rate Review Committee tells a different story — one of profit cycles, opaque pricing, and coordinated industry lobbying, not runaway lawsuits.
The Story Behind the Hearings
Lawmakers formed the Ad Hoc Insurance Rate Review Committee earlier this year to study what’s really driving up costs. Over the course of three hearings, two distinct narratives emerged:
The Committee’s public record now confirms: there is no data showing lawsuits are responsible for higher premiums.
The Industry’s Coordinated Message
At the August 19 hearing, representatives from Nationwide, Progressive, GEICO, Farm Bureau, NAMIC, and APCIA delivered near-identical testimony calling for so-called “tort reform.” Each warned that “runaway jury awards” were driving costs — yet none produced evidence linking litigation to rate filings.
The Reinsurance Association of America reported that insurers’ net reinsurance costs in South Carolina are “de minimis.” At the same time, insurers continue to price significant catastrophe risk into premiums—without clear disclosure of how much is actually spent versus retained or transferred internally. That lack of transparency is exactly why lawmakers need stronger oversight.”
“We’re not going to address this simply as an insurance industry… It’s going to have to be approached like a long-term campaign, a political campaign… We have data, we have knowledge, we have money, and we can help.”
— Evan Greenberg, CEO of Chubb
That admission — from one of the world’s largest insurers — reveals what consumer advocates describe as a nationally coordinated lobbying push now echoing in South Carolina.
What the Experts Revealed (September 29 Hearing)
Douglas Heller, Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
“The insurance industry is in a cycle. And when things get ugly, they blame consumers to avoid accountability.”
Heller presented state-specific data showing that:
“Record profits and rising premiums don’t point to a lawsuit crisis,” Heller said. “They point to a transparency and accountability crisis.”
Doug Quinn, American Policyholder Association (APA)
Quinn testified as both a consumer advocate and former insurance professional, describing how insurers use affiliate transfers and surplus notes to shift profits off the books while raising rates.
“We are witnessing a shift from indemnifying consumers at a reasonable profit to profit harvesting at consumers’ expense.”
Quinn warned lawmakers that restricting consumers’ ability to challenge insurers in court would only embolden misconduct — the same pattern seen in Florida after its 2022 tort reforms, where denials rose and premiums stayed high.
The Regulator’s View
At the same hearing, Director Michael Wise of the Department of Insurance acknowledged that rising premiums are driven by inflation, labor, and materials costs, not litigation.
“The Department can only review data that insurers are required to file and can enforce only the laws enacted by the General Assembly.”
Wise’s statement made clear that his office lacks the transparency tools to verify or challenge insurers’ internal transfers. His tools are limited, not his commitment.
The Economist’s Warning (July 23, 2025)
Industry economist Sean Kevelighan Hartwig — whose analysis is often cited by insurers themselves — testified that real premium relief will come from risk reduction, not tort reform.
His recommendations included:
Hartwig’s conclusion: South Carolina can lower costs through resilience and data transparency, not by weakening accountability.
By the Numbers: Profits and Costs
| Metric | South Carolina | U.S. Average | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home insurer profit margin (2024) | 6.9% | 5.2% | CFA (2025) |
| Auto insurer profit margin (2024) | 10.5% | 5.6% | CFA (2025) |
| All P&C insurers (2024) | 10.4% | 8.5% | CFA (2025) |
| Homeowners’ premium increase (2021–2024) | +17.4% (+$442) | +24% (+$648) | CFA (2025) |
| % uninsured homeowners | 9% | 7.4% | CFA (2025) |
While residents pay more, insurers who do business in SC consistently report higher profits here than the national average.
“…they [Insurance Companies] do better nationally if they sell in South Carolina than companies that don’t. South Carolina is a good business, a good state for business, for insurance companies. Their profits are always, are better if they operate in South Carolina. They’re not gonna leave the state, but they’ll threaten it because they wanna keep their ways.” – Doug Heller, CFA
The Bigger Picture: Florida as a Cautionary Tale
Florida enacted sweeping tort reforms in 2022.
Two years later, the data show:
South Carolina risks repeating this pattern — removing consumer rights while doing nothing to address corporate behavior.
Policy Recommendations
Consumer advocates and experts now urge lawmakers to:
Conclusion: Facts Over Fear
After months of testimony, data, and public scrutiny, the Committee’s record leaves no doubt:
So-called “tort reform” is not the answer to South Carolina’s high insurance premiums.
Premiums rise with profit cycles, investment returns, opaque pricing models, and insurer profit strategies — not litigation.
Limiting citizens’ right to hold insurers accountable would only reward the same practices driving costs higher.
Even industry economists agree: South Carolina’s best path forward is transparency, fairness, and stronger resilience — not immunity for powerful corporations.
by Reform Insurance Now SC