Agents Action Center

AGents ACTION CENTER

The Kentucky Insurance Market is in Crisis.

What is Legal Reform/Tort reform?

Tort reform is about modernizing Kentucky’s civil justice system to curb abusive lawsuits, lower legal costs and protect small businesses and consumers. It helps keep our courtrooms focused on fairness and real justice – not inflated lawsuit payouts.

Why should I care?

If Insurance premiums go down… it hurts my commissions.

Eliminate the “Tort Tax”: Lawsuit abuse imposes a hidden annual cost of $970 on every person in Kentucky.
Improve Client Affordability: Reform addresses the factors keeping Kentucky ranked #38 in personal auto insurance affordability.
Drive Economic Growth: Excessive litigation is linked to the loss of over 37,400 jobs and $4.5 billion in annual Gross Product statewide.
Attract More Carriers: By removing unpredictable “impossible to underwrite” risks like 3rd party bad faith, Kentucky can create a stable, business-friendly environment that encourages more insurance companies to enter the market, providing agents with more options and products to write.
Champion Consumer Demand: Advocacy aligns your agency with the 89.7% of consumers who believe reducing unnecessary lawsuits is essential to controlling their insurance costs.

Confidential Strategy Session: Dismantling the Billboard Attorney Playbook

Join us on August 31st for a “Top Secret,” members-only deep dive into the data you need to win in Frankfort. We are preparing for a critical month of legislative advocacy ahead of Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan’s testimony before the Joint Banking and Insurance Interim Committee on October 6 in Frankfort.

Join the webinar august 27

The Economic Crisis: Kentucky’s $3 Billion “Tort Tax”

Excessive litigation isn’t just a legal issue—it’s a massive drain on the Commonwealth’s economy that affects your clients every day.

The Hidden Tax: Lawsuit abuse results in $3.0 billion in annual direct costs, creating a hidden “tort tax” of $970 for every person in Kentucky.
Job & Product Loss: This litigation climate is linked to the loss of 37,434 jobs and a $4.5 billion hit to Kentucky’s Gross Product annually.
The Affordability Gap: Kentucky ranks #38 in personal auto insurance affordability. While auto insurance expenditures are 13% below the U.S. average, Kentucky’s household income is 19% lower than average, forcing residents to spend a higher portion of their income (1.68%) on insurance.
Severity Outlier: A primary driver is our Injury Claim Severity, which stands at $6,000—significantly higher than the U.S. average of $4,700.
In the current litigation environment, the high cost of discovery and expert witness testimony often makes settling an E&O claim a necessary tactical decision to avoid the even greater expense of a prolonged courtroom battle. Even if you are not at fault!

Exposing the Playbook: Kentucky’s Three Major Cost “Leaks”

“Billboard attorneys” exploit unique Kentucky legal standards to inflate settlements and drive up premiums.

Phantom Damages: Juries are often “kept in the dark,” basing awards on inflated billed amounts rather than the actual, lower amounts paid by insurers or Medicare. This creates a “jackpot” incentive for unnecessary litigation.
Pure Comparative Fault (KRS 411.182(2)): Unlike most states, Kentucky allows a plaintiff who is 75% responsible for an accident to still recover damages. This provides attorneys with massive leverage to force settlements in cases where the defendant has minimal liability.
3rd Party Bad Faith: Kentucky has a direct private cause of action for 3^rd parties to sue insurers for “bad faith” without a contract. Attorneys use the threat of these unpredictable, expensive lawsuits as leverage in negotiating with insurers to force settlements or else face judgments that may far exceed original policy limits.

The Consumer Mandate: Your Clients Want Change

Your policyholders are aware that the system is being abused and they are ready for reform.

Widespread Concern: 80.5% of consumers believe the legal system is used in ways that unfairly drive up their insurance costs.
Support for Reform: 84.3% of respondents would support reforms if they knew specific legal practices were making their insurance more expensive.
The Fairness Factor: 89.7% of consumers say it is important to reduce unnecessary lawsuits to help control insurance costs.

Agent Action Center

Prepare for your September legislative meet-ups with these tools:

STEP ONE: Who is my legislator?
STEP TWO: Take action: Call, email or text to ask for a meeting
STEP THREE: Commit to meeting your state legislator. You provide the local voice; we provide the facts.
STEP FOUR: Tell us what your legislator said! Your intel helps us coordinate strategy for the upcoming interim committee testimony.
STEP FIVE: Attend the committee meeting October 6 @ 9:30 am in Frankfort.
STEP SIX: Give Our Voice the Firepower it Needs in Frankfort: Your contribution to our State PAC ensures that your industry’s interests—and the interests of the 89.7% of consumers who want reform—are protected year-round

Resource Vault

Download these materials to use in your legislative meetings: