A bipartisan measure that would largely protect insurers from being sued directly after crashes involving trucks is on its way to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.
The state House of Representatives passed the bill 172-0 on Monday after the legislation passed in the Senate by a vote of 46-2. Backers say that no longer permitting direct lawsuits against insurers would expand the beleaguered insurance market for trucking companies and lower premiums, media outlets reported.
Insurance Journal reported that Kemp is expected to sign the bill.
The law would not forbid all direct-action lawsuits against insurance companies. Rather, they would be permitted only if a plaintiff could not find the driver or the carrier involved in the accident or if the carrier had gone bankrupt, according to The Associated Press.
Most states do not permit direct-action lawsuits against the insurance companies of carriers and truck drivers. Insurers in states that do have responded to huge jury verdicts and settlements by increasing rates or halting coverage altogether, Insurance Journal reported. In January, it quoted Bryce Rawson, assistant to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King, as saying the existing law “has destroyed our market. No one wants to insure trucking here.”
Plaintiffs’ attorneys oppose the bill, news outlets reported, and similar legislation in 2023 failed.