Insurer Says Number of $10M+ Verdicts Have Tripled Over Past Three Years

In a new Financial Times report, an insurance executive said the number of verdicts that exceed $10 million have tripled over the past three years.

Rob Francis of ProAssurance said there is “a growing social mood” amongst juries to levy massive awards, which makes the “demands of the plaintiffs’ lawyers go up.” Another insurance analyst with the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods investment firm says the rise of third party litigation funding, through which bankers fund lawsuits in hopes of a cut of the payout, may encourage litigants “to be more aggressive and experimental.”