Tort reform legislation is on the agenda for the 2025-2026 legislative session in South Carolina. Senate Bill S. 244 was introduced in January 2025 and recently debated in the Senate Judiciary subcommittee. The proposed legislation has a number of potential impacts on the insurance industry.

The proposed bill S.244 carries the following provisions:

Section 2: makes a civil claim against a bar or restaurant for over-service grounds for suspension or revocation of that business’s permits.

Section 3: If a server makes an alcohol related service mistake, this would revoke a bar’s liquor license for six months on the first offense and permanently closed on the second.

Section 6: Makes it almost impossible to make a claim against a builder for defects in your home unless the builder violated building code or unless the defect causes damage to the structure of injures someone.

Sections 9 & 10: In this state, you are required to purchase uninsured motorist coverage, and insurance companies are required to offer underinsured motorist coverage to protect you and your family from drivers without insurance or without enough insurance.

This portion of the bill hurts victims of driving crimes (DUI, reckless driving, hit and run, etc.) and allows your own insurance company to prevent you from making a claim for such offenses.  Imagine being hit by a drunk driver or someone street racing and your insurance company says “not covered.”

Section 13: This section applies to car insurance, homeowners’ insurance, wind, fire, life insurance, etc., and would make it the law that an insurance company does not have to pay any claim for at least 90 days. Additionally, under this bill, nothing an insurance company does is considered “bad faith” until 10 months after a lawsuit is filed.

Essentially, if a hurricane destroys your house or an accident destroys your car, the insurance company does not have to facilitate or pay for repairs for at least 90 days.

Insurance companies have charged the highest rates ever in 2023 and 2024 and have made the highest profits ever in 2023 and 2024 (Berkshire Hathaway, CHUBB, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, W.R. Berkley, and Zurich reported multibillion dollar profits).

In conclusion, this bill appears to help insurance companies who are already experiencing record breaking profits, while not reducing premiums or deductibles for their customers. The truth is that some of these jury awards are ridiculous. The numbers on verdicts and settlements seem asinine at times. The greed of lawyers and insurance companies lead to bills like this.  However, cutting off the ability for the citizens of South Carolina to recover when they are hurt or lose their home is not the proper solution for the people you represent.

If you want to give both sides tort reform then the bill is real simple.  Delete the current law and add these two clauses:

1. The recovery is determined by the jury as to what makes an injured party whole (otherwise what is the point of the jury system). There are no minimums of maximums.

2. You have one year from when you discovered, or a reasonable person would have discovered the situation, and at the maximum three years from when the situation was created. You can’t sleep on your right to sue and the Defendant should not have to live with a life time of fear and exposure.

Real simple, but hey, that is why politicians get the big bucks. They have to make things complicated, so they can appear smart while they debate how to figure out what they made complicated.

All tort reform is a limitation on your right to make a full recovery. Please speak out against this deprivation of your right to be made whole with your representatives.

May God Bless You, Your Business, and the United States of America,

Tom Winslow

COMMITTED COUNSELORS FOR OUR CLIENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY

Written by
Tom Winslow