For insurance carriers, defense counsel, and corporate risk managers, the location of a lawsuit often matters as much as the facts themselves. While a rear-end collision in Iowa might yield a modest settlement, the same case in California, Georgia, or Texas could result in a multi-million-dollar jury award. These hostile jurisdictions are shaped by a mix of anti-insurer legislation, pro-plaintiff judicial trends, and increasing public hostility often translating into juror bias against corporate defendants.
This article breaks down the most challenging U.S. jurisdictions for insurers, where tort reform has stalled, nuclear verdicts dominate, and liability laws tilt heavily in favor of plaintiffs. It also examines recent legislative attempts to course-correct and outline what defense attorneys and insurance professionals can do to manage the risk.
Hot Zones: High Risk States for Insurers
Florida
Florida remains the poster child for nuclear verdicts, producing 213 awards totaling $35 billion between 2010-2019. Even after adjusting for population, it ranks first per capita.i The key drivers are inflated medical billing or phantom damages, and punitive awards making up 40% of verdict totals- well above the national average.ii
Recent reforms under HB 837 (2023) curtailed attorney fee multipliers in insurance disputes, capped medical damages to paid amounts, bifurcated bad-faith trials, and trimmed the negligence statute. Despite these reforms, Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties remain difficult venues for defendants and insurers.iii
Takeaway: Florida demands hypervigilant claims handling and venue awareness. Reforms have helped, but hotspots persist. Adjust underwriting and educate adjusters on emerging risks.
California
Driven by an aggressive plaintiffs' bar, a proliferation of novel legal theories, and statutory regimes that invite high stakes litigation, California now leads the nation in overall nuclear verdicts. According to a report published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, California led the nation in nuclear verdicts from 2013 to 2022, with 199 such verdicts totaling over $9 billion in damages. Los Angeles County alone accounted for more than one-third of these cases.iv Jury verdicts often include massive noneconomic damages due in part to a lack of caps in most civil cases outside medical malpractice.
AB 35, passed in 2022, raised the cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases from $250,000 (and up to $750,000 for wrongful death),v but even these increases lag substantially behind other reform-minded states.
Takeaway: California demands powerful defense teams who challenge entitlement stories and push back on speculative damages. Strategic jury selection and mitigation experts are crucial.
Texas
Texas led all states in 2024 with 23 verdicts exceeding $10 million, with most occurring in Harris County (Houston) and Dallas County.vi Despite tort reforms in the early 2000s, Texas continues to see social inflation and anti-corporate jury sentiment in these venues.vii To make matters worse, plaintiffs employ anchoring tactics, in which plaintiffs suggest astronomical damages, to prime juries for multimillion-dollar awards.
Legislative efforts like HB 4806, which recently died in the House, would have limited damages for uninsured plaintiffs, barred inflated medical bills, and bolstered seatbelt defense.viii Resistance to these types of reform persists in the state.
Takeaway: Texas remains unpredictable. Defense counsel should prepare metrics-based damages, preempt inflation tactics, and elevate seatbelt and medical necessity evidence.
New York
New York ranks third nationally in nuclear verdict volume and second in total award value through 2022.ix Nearly half involve its Scaffold Law, which imposes strict liability on construction employers. The law creates fertile ground for staged accidents which often amount to class actions with inflated facts and exaggerated damages.x No cap on noneconomic damages and generous evidentiary rules favoring plaintiffs make New York, particularly New York City, a high-stakes venue.
Takeaway: Expect massive exposure in construction/premise cases. Defense must target pre-litigation exposure in construction/ premises cases.
Illinois
Cook County is the epicenter of Midwest nuclear awards. From 2016-2023, a rising number of nuclear verdicts were recorded with two mega asbestos verdicts of $45 million and $24 million in 2024 alone.xi Nuclear verdicts are increasingly common in product liability, trucking, and employment cases. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has also triggered class action litigation with verdicts in the hundreds of millions, even for unintentional violations.xii Court rulings increasingly support expanded liability, and the Illinois Supreme Court has resisted reform efforts.
Takeaway: Illinois courts allow plaintiff counsel wide latitude to use "reptile theory" and social justice narratives that may inflame juries. Illinois exposure spans toxic torts and privacy claims. Defense strategies must focus on early venue transfers, reinforcement of scientific evidence, and BIPA-specific compliance audits.
Georgia
From 2018-2023, Georgia issued 39 nuclear verdicts, including a staggering $1.7 billion punitive award in Gwinnett County (Ford SUV roof defect).xiii Historically, plaintiff-friendly discovery rules and the prohibition of seatbelt defense evidence have made Georgia especially risky for insurers. SB 68-69, passed in 2025, addressed some of these issues, but implementation and results are still in the early stages. Specifically, the bill:
- Aligns recoverable medical damages with paid amounts
- Reintroduces the seatbelt defense, and
- Restricts venue selection and streamlines liability discovery.xiv
Takeaway: Georgia remains perilous. Defense must diligently seek bifurcation, champion seatbelt defenses, and prepare for emotionally charged jury narratives.
Washington State
Under Washington's Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA), insureds can sue for unreasonable denials and recover treble damages, fees, and litigation costs.xv Actual damages under IFCA now include noneconomic losses, following Beasley v. GEICO 517 P.3d 500 (Wash. App. 2022). This means even minor claim delays or lowball offers can trigger larger exposure.
State and federal courts also routinely award treble damages,xvi easily pushing disputes into high legal risk. Use of IFCA is widespread, frequently paired with common law bad faith and CPA claims.
Takeaway: Adjusters must document denials meticulously, and policies should be vetted by local counsel. Reserves should reflect treble-damage potential. Pre-litigation strategies are essential.
Common Threads in Hostile Jurisdictions
These states tend to share key characteristics that increase insurer risk:
- No caps on noneconomic damages (or caps too high to matter).
- Venue laws that allow forum shopping.
- Broad evidentiary rules allowing speculative damages, emotional appeal arguments and prejudicial testimony.
- Weak tort reform, or significant resistance to new reform efforts.
- Permissive litigation finance rules, which increase the volume and aggressiveness of claims.
Managing the Risks of Hostile Jurisdictions
While nuclear verdicts dominate headlines, they are not only the most visible symptom of broader structural issues that make some states particularly treacherous for insurers. Each "hostile" jurisdiction profiled in this article illustrates how legal culture, statutes, judicial philosophy, and regulation combine to raise the stakes for claim denials, defense strategies, and policy drafting.
Following are a few key strategic thoughts for insurers to consider:
- Insurers must treat venue as a core risk factor when setting reserves, evaluating exposure, or deciding when to settle.
- In states where statutory multipliers and penalties can exceed the underlying claim like Washington's IFCA, procedural missteps can increase potential damages significantly through treble damages and fee shifting.
- Courts in these jurisdictions aggressively construe ambiguities in policy language against insurers. Policies need to be tailored not only for underwriting but also for legal durability in challenging courts.
- Plaintiff attorneys, especially in hostile jurisdictions, increasingly use tactics that appeal to juror emotion rather than legal standards. Themes of safety, community protection, and corporate neglect can fuel emotion-driven outcomes.
- Recent reforms (and attempts at reform) show that the political appetite exists to change the landscape but so far these reforms have been mostly narrow, incremental, and subject to lengthy challenges in the courts.
Conclusion: Watch the Map, Shape the Future
For insurers, defense attorneys, and risk managers, understanding the legal geography of the U.S. is more critical than ever. States like Florida, California, and Texas continue to pose outsized risks due to a volatile mix of legal precedent, political pressure, and jury behavior. While recent legislative reforms in Florida and Georgia are signs of progress, it remains to be seen whether similar changes will take hold in California, New York, or Illinois. In today's environment, where a single jury verdict can wipe out a year's worth of underwriting, carriers must treat venue as a core underwriting variable, not just a trial detail. The courtroom terrain may be uneven, but with smart strategy and policy advocacy, the defense bar and insurance industry can still level the playing field.
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i Which States Have the Most Nuclear Verdicts? (July 11, 2024) https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/which-states-have-the-most-nuclear-verdicts/.
ii Judicial Hellholes 2024/2025: Florida https://www.judicialhellholes.org/hellhole/2017-2018/florida/.
iii Carey, Brett. Florida's Evolving Bad Faith Landscape: What Claims and Insurance Pros Need to Know. Insurance Journal. (June 19, 2025). https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2025/06/19/828527.htm.
iv Which States Have the Most Nuclear Verdicts? (July 11, 2024) https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/which-states-have-the-most-nuclear-verdicts/.
vi Governor Newsom signs Legislation to Modernize California's Medical Malpractice System https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/05/23/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-to-modernize-californias-medical-malpractice-system/.
vi Which States Have the Most Nuclear Verdicts? (July 11, 2024) https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/which-states-have-the-most-nuclear-verdicts/
vii Amacher, Ezra. Corporate Nuclear Verdicts surged to New High in 2024. Insurance Journal, (May 22, 2025) https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/05/22/824792.htm.
viii Kingston, John. Texas bill, a trucking priority for tort reform, dies in House committee. (May 30, 2025). https://www.freightwaves.com/news/texas-bill-a-trucking-priority-for-tort-reform-dies-in-house-committee#:~:text=With%20no%20action%20taken%20on,applied%20equally%20across%20the%20state.%E2%80%9D.
ix Which States Have the Most Nuclear Verdicts? (July 11, 2024) https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/which-states-have-the-most-nuclear-verdicts/.
x New York State Labor Law § 240/241.
xi Judicial Hellholes 2024/2025: Cook County, Illinois. https://www.judicialhellholes.org/hellhole/2024-2025/cook-county illinois/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20report,corporations%20between%202009%20and%202022.
xii BIPA Litigation Tracker. Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
xiii Which States Have the Most Nuclear Verdicts? (July 11, 2024) https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/which-states-have-the-most-nuclear-verdicts/.
xiv Georgia Gov. Kemp Signs Legal Reform Bill to Protect Businesses and Consumers. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. (April 23, 2025). https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/georgia-gov-kemp-signs-legal-reform-bill-to-protect-businesses-and-consumers.
xv RCW 48.30.015.
xv1 RCW19.86.090.
