Adverse Verdicts in Insurance Litigation

Global commercial insurance prices fell for the first time since 2017, with property down 7% to 9% and well-run programs seeing 10% to 30% reductions. The story says umbrella rose 8.2% and U.S. casualty increased 9%, driven by nuclear verdicts, litigation and auto losses. It also says cyber premiums fell about 11% even as significant incidents rose about 129%.

Aug 14

The Florida Supreme Court ruled on June 11, 2026, in Perlmutter v. Federal Insurance Co. that plaintiffs face a lower threshold when seeking leave to plead punitive damages. The case arose from a lawsuit by former Marvel Entertainment head Isaac Perlmutter and resulted in a $50 million jury verdict last November. The ruling is expected to pressure insurers to settle high-dollar claims earlier.

Aug 13

A Dallas County jury returned a $604 million compensatory verdict on July 23, 2026, against a driver, a motor carrier and broker C.H. Robinson over a 2021 Mississippi crash that killed three people. The jury assigned the broker 23% of fault, but a borrowed-employer finding shifted part of the driver’s share to the broker. C.H. Robinson said it would appeal.

Aug 12

An Oregon jury last year awarded $15.8 million against Topgolf after the company was found negligent in a Hillsboro facility case involving a child’s skull fracture and traumatic brain injury. The verdict added to concerns that premises-liability claims are driving nuclear verdicts above $10 million. Advisen’s loss database said the median cost of verdicts over $10 million rose from $20 million to $27 million from 2015 to 2020.

Aug 17

Nuclear verdicts are jury awards of $10 million or more against one company. In casualty lines, they can turn a claim into a balance-sheet event, and one large award can exceed the premium earned on a whole book. Thermonuclear verdicts are awards above $100 million.

Aug 11

A US appeals court upheld a district court order confirming a $565.2 million arbitration award for Devas Multimedia in its dispute with Antrix Corp, ISRO’s commercial arm. The Ninth Circuit said US courts had jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act arbitration exception. The award, with interest, is now over $1.2 billion.

Aug 15

The jury found primary negligence and proximate cause against Mrs. Travis, and contributory negligence and proximate cause against Petruy. The court entered judgment for $3,727.80 after the jury also found against Mrs. Travis on discovered peril. The opinion said the pain-and-suffering award of $2,850 was not excessive.

Aug 11

A Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary is asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to reverse a nearly $170 million jury award. The case involves a Colorado worker who suffered a catastrophic brain injury on the job. The company argues the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury on physical impairment damages.

Aug 12

A Dallas County jury returned a $604 million verdict against C.H. Robinson on July 23 and 24. The jury assigned 45% of fault to the driver, 32% to Lupus Superior and 23% to C.H. Robinson, then found the driver was a borrowed employee of the broker. The company said it disagrees with the verdict and is appealing.

Aug 10

A Texas jury returned an approximately $604 million verdict against C.H. Robinson and co-defendants in Lipe v. Lupus Superior. The jury found C.H. Robinson 23% responsible in the Dallas County case, which followed a deadly 2021 crash. The award was described as a major post-Montgomery broker-liability verdict in the trucking industry.

Aug 10

A Texas jury found SARS-CoV-2 on Baylor College of Medicine’s property caused physical loss or damage and related economic loss under its commercial property coverage. The jury awarded BCM more than $48 million after a three-day trial. The award included $42.8 million for business interruption, $3.3 million for extra expense, and $2.3 million for damage to research projects.

Aug 10

Commercial litigation nuclear verdicts hit a record in 2024, with 135 awards of $10 million or more against corporate defendants totaling $31.3 billion. That was up 52% from 2023 by count and 116% by dollars. The median corporate nuclear verdict rose to $51 million, and 49 verdicts topped $100 million.

Aug 7

Enlyte's Q2 tracker reported four verdicts topping $3.5 billion in a single quarter, underscoring higher loss expectations in commercial auto and self-insured liability programs. It cited a Florida jury's $141.5 million award against a defunct logging carrier, though most of that was uncollectible punitive damages. The tracker also highlighted a $604 million C.H. Robinson verdict and a $104 million Mesilla Valley Transportation award.

Aug 4

Sentry Insurance’s 2026 C-Suite Stress Index says litigation has become a boardroom issue, with executives citing higher insurance costs, diverted management attention and added staffing needs. The survey found 53% of large business executives say litigation increased coverage costs, 45% say it diverted managerial focus and 76% see $10 million-plus nuclear verdicts as a problem. The company says rising verdicts and third-party litigation funding are helping push premiums higher.

Aug 6

A split Washington Supreme Court affirmed a ruling against Meta Platforms Inc. in a state suit over alleged violations of the Fair Campaign Practices Act. The court said the law serves Washington’s interest in election transparency and is not unduly burdensome. In a separate California case, a judge denied posttrial motions by YouTube LLC and Meta after a jury awarded $6 million in damages over claims the platforms failed to warn of addiction risks.…

Aug 6

Twin City Fire Insurance Co. filed suit in Virginia federal court seeking a declaration that it does not owe coverage for $10 million in punitive damages awarded to Rehab Mohamed. A Colorado jury had awarded Mohamed $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages after finding that SHRM intentionally discriminated and retaliated against her. The insurer says Virginia law bars coverage for punitive damages tied to intentional acts.

Jul 31

Nuclear verdicts above $10 million, and thermonuclear verdicts above $100 million, are being reported more often in commercial transportation litigation. The report says juries awarded more than $71 billion in nuclear verdicts between 2023 and 2025, while commercial auto liability premiums have risen nearly 38% per mile over the past decade. It attributes the trend to litigation funding, rising medical costs, changing attitudes toward corporations, and aggressive trial tactics.

Jul 21

Alera Group said commercial insurance rates are flattening in its 2026 Property and Casualty Midyear Market Update. The report says commercial property has seen the biggest shift, while commercial auto and umbrella/excess remain under upward pressure from nuclear verdicts and large jury awards. The Ivans Index also showed premium drops in most lines in the second quarter, except workers' compensation.

Jul 22