Commentary: SC needs insurance reform, not lawsuit reform
- SCCLR Newsletter
- Feb 8
- 3 min read
By: Ashley Creech
With the South Carolina legislative session underway, powerful business interests are once again calling for changes to the civil justice system. They label it “lawsuit reform,” arguing that limiting access to the courts will lower insurance costs and strengthen the economy. But the real problem facing families isn’t our legal system. It’s an insurance system that raises rates, posts record profits and too often fails people when they need help the most. What our state needs is insurance reform, not lawsuit reform.
We hear this debate every year, and it raises a basic question: If our state is winning, why are we being told our laws are broken when the real drivers of rising costs remain unaddressed?
By every meaningful measure, our economy is thriving. Gov. Henry McMaster has repeatedly highlighted this momentum as proof that pro-growth policies are working.
Businesses continue to locate and expand here because our workforce is strong and our policies encourage opportunity and investment. In recent years, we’ve seen record-breaking capital investment. As the governor has said, “Once again, South Carolina has proven that it is among the best places in the world to do business.”
What’s often missing from this conversation is the role of the insurance industry. Insurers claim lawsuits are driving up premiums, yet independent studies — including analyses by the U.S. Government Accountability Office — have found no clear evidence that limits on lawsuits reduce insurance premiums for consumers. At the same time, insurance companies are raising premiums nationwide while reporting extraordinary profits. These are not struggling businesses. They are powerful corporations pushing for changes that would increase their profits by reducing their responsibilities to policyholders.
Insurance is not optional. Families are required to buy it for their homes, cars and businesses. Yet even as premiums rise, policyholders are increasingly forced to fight for coverage they already paid for. After hurricanes, flooding or other disasters, families expect insurers to keep their promises. Too often, claims are delayed, denied or underpaid. When that happens, the courts are often the only place people can turn for answers and relief.
Limiting access to the courts doesn’t make these costs disappear. It shifts them to you. When injured people or families can’t recover what they’ve lost, the financial burden is pushed onto taxpayers through increased Medicaid spending and public assistance. Weakening accountability doesn’t save money. It moves the cost from powerful corporations onto the public.
Big corporations and insurance companies have teams of lobbyists, public relations firms and lawyers advocating for their interests at the Statehouse. Everyday people do not. When their lives are turned upside down, they rely on nonprofit victims’ advocacy organizations and lawyers to stand between them and institutions far more powerful than they are.
I hope my family and friends never need to rely on the civil justice system. But the truth is, tragedy does strike. At their core, the laws now under attack exist to make innocent people whole when they are harmed through no fault of their own. They protect families devastated by serious injuries, workers hurt on the job and homeowners left reeling after disasters, especially when insurance promises fall short. These are not abstract policy debates. They matter when real people face life-altering moments.
We believe in personal responsibility. If people cause harm, they should be held accountable. If a company cuts corners, it shouldn’t be shielded simply because it has more resources. And if an insurance company collects premiums year after year, it should honor its promises.
We do not need to choose between a strong economy and a fair justice system. We already have both. We will work with lawmakers acting in good faith to ensure that proposed changes serve the people they were elected to represent, not just the most powerful interests in the room.
South Carolina is winning. Let’s not allow that success to be used as an excuse to weaken protections for the people who need them most.
Ashley Creech is a Rock Hill-based attorney and the president of the South Carolina Association of Justice.
