Tennessee Injury Law Center
When I complained about my car insurance rates my agent said that the reason rates were so high was lawsuits. Is that right?
Well, it is true that insurance companies pay claims and, when they don’t pay the claims they should or don’t pay a fair amount lawsuits will be filed. Of course, that is the business they are in.
The facts are that Tennessee consumers and juries are very conservative and our insurance rates reflect that. While no one likes writing a check to an insurance company, Research reveals that Tennessee has the 8th lowest auto insurance rates in the nation.
The average Tennessee premium was $1,170.12 per year. That puts us 42nd on the list of all states, with Louisiana having the highest average premium at $2510.87. The national average is $1420.78. We have lower rates in Tennessee than every other southern state except one – North Carolina – and its rates are only less than $40 less per year than our rates.
So – do lawsuits affect insurance rates? Of course. But we buy insurance to protect ourselves from personal financial loss in the event we negligently injure another, and we have a right to depend on fair treatment by insurance companies when we are injured by the negligence of others.