State Farm cut auto insurance rates by more than 10% in Georgia over roughly a year, saving customers an estimated $400 million, or about $190 per insured vehicle, according to a new analysis from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation published in June 2026. The report examines the early impact of Georgia's landmark tort reform legislation passed in 2025, finding that multiple insurers have reduced premiums and the state's insurance market is showing signs of improvement just over a year after the laws took effect.
Beyond State Farm's double-digit cut, Allstate filed a 5% reduction projected to save $17.7 million, while Travelers filed a 10.1% reduction representing approximately $40 million in statewide premium savings. MARTA's proposed fiscal 2027 budget reduces casualty and liability costs by $2.8 million, reflecting what officials described as a lower risk profile following tort reform. The report notes that Georgia's insurance commissioner has explicitly stated that the early effects of lawsuit-abuse reform are contributing to a more balanced insurance environment, though the office also credits regulatory negotiations, anti-fraud efforts, and improving market conditions.
The analysis points to Florida as a blueprint for Georgia's reform trajectory. Florida enacted insurance-litigation reforms in 2022 and broader civil-liability legislation in 2023, and the state's insurance commissioner now reports that average homeowners' defense and cost-containment expenses declined from $992.89 per claim in 2022 to $817.64 in 2024. Personal residential legal-service filings in Florida dropped 23% between 2023 and 2024, followed by another 26% year-over-year decline during the first 11 months of 2025. Florida's five largest auto insurance groups, representing about 78% of the market, indicated an average 8% rate reduction for 2026 after collectively requesting a 7.4% reduction for 2025. As of May 2026, 20 new property and casualty insurers have entered Florida since the reforms, bringing more than $850 million in capital, while regulators received more than 190 residential filings requesting decreases or no increase.
Georgia's reforms came through Senate Bill 68 and Senate Bill 69, which Gov. Kemp signed into law in April 2025 after they dominated the 2025 legislative session. The omnibus package changed rules governing premises liability, how courts account for medical expenses, and trial procedures, including allowing liability and damages to be considered separately in certain cases. Senate Bill 69 added transparency requirements and limits on third-party litigation funding. Supporters argued that excessive litigation was imposing a hidden cost on nearly every good and service Georgians buy, particularly insurance. The report cautions that many lawsuits and insurance claims still moving through the system began under Georgia's previous rules, and auto insurance rates reflect several factors beyond tort reform alone. But it concludes that Florida's experience shows which indicators Georgia should watch over the next several years: litigation frequency, defense expenses, claim costs, insurer participation, and consumer premiums. While tort reform won't solve every problem in the insurance market, the measurements it has produced have generally moved in the direction supporters predicted.