Today, PACT Executive Director Lauren Zelt published an op-ed in The Center Square on how states can tackle the rising issue of affordability by ending lawsuit abuse:

Washington has no shortage of speeches about affordability. Every week brings a new press conference about the rising cost of living and the financial pressure facing American families. You see its impact most clearly in auto insurance, where premiums have stayed stubbornly high even as inflation has cooled elsewhere. 

The American middle class is straining under rising prices and stagnant wages. Families are tired of an economy where everything costs more, and nothing seems to change. 

But there is a solution to the rising spiral of costs. One that lowers costs without raising taxes or expanding government. It starts with confronting a major but overlooked driver of inflation: lawsuit abuse. 

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“In 2023, Florida passed a major reform law to fix this. They made it harder to file questionable lawsuits, reduced the financial incentives that encouraged attorneys to flood the system with claims, and closed loopholes that had allowed contractors and medical providers to inflate costs. 

The impact was immediate. Within a year, property-insurance lawsuits dropped by nearly one-third, and Florida saw the lowest insurance rate increase in the nation – with 27 private carriers filing for rate decreases.

Even more important for families, auto-insurance rates are now falling. Florida’s major auto insurers — including GEICO, Progressive, and State Farm — have all filed for rate reductions after years of sharp increases. Reports show cuts of up to 20%, with state officials crediting the reforms for stabilizing claims and reducing lawsuit risk. All told, these reforms will lower auto-insurance rates for nearly 80% of Floridians.”

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“Last month, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John F. King announced that State Farm would reduce auto insurance rates by another 3%, bringing total cuts this year to more than 10%. His office estimates this will save State Farm policyholders roughly $400 million annually. ‘People are getting crushed,” King said in the announcement. “It’s our job to move every lever we can to lower costs.’”

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If policymakers want to get serious about affordability, they should start where two states have already succeeded: reforming the lawsuit economy that quietly makes everything—from insurance to groceries to city parks — more expensive than it needs to be.

Zelt’s op-ed underscores that policymakers must work together to pass lawsuit abuse reform legislation to create a more affordable life for families across the country. These reforms lead to lower prices and lower insurance premiums, with real savings for Americans everywhere.