Amidst the need to address the lack of affordable housing and accessible grocery stores for low income and black Georgian families, Atlanta’s oldest Black newspaper is chiming in that the answer is to make it less expensive to do business by passing tort reform. 

As explained in an editorial from the Atlanta Daily World: 

“Legal reform has become a hot-button issue in Georgia in recent years, with many businesses calling for changes to premises liability laws as frivolous lawsuits increasingly drive up insurance costs across the state. These higher costs are making it increasingly difficult for businesses to keep their doors open and for entrepreneurs to launch new projects. This particularly impacts affordable housing and grocery access in disadvantaged communities, which often are in higher-crime areas that result in even higher insurance costs.”

“A commissioner’s report found that there has been a 25% increase in the frequency of claims like these in the last four years, and the number of large losses over $1 million is increasing year by year. These claims cause insurance providers to either stop coverage in some neighborhoods or increase their prices to be so high that small businesses can’t afford it.”

Grocery stores in disadvantaged areas are often hit hardest by this cycle, as when a crime or damage is more likely to occur on their property, insurance rates spike, forcing storeowners to raise costs or close down. Atlanta News First also covered the issue, interviewing members of the community suffering from food deserts. John F. King, Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire commissioner said “Insurance was created to get you back on your feet, to fix your damage, to fix any injuries that you had. It was never made for people to become rich overnight.”

By passing meaningful tort reform legislation, we can bring down costs for business owners, which in turn will make it easier for businesses to operate in vulnerable neighborhoods where they are needed most.