Damage left after Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, Delaware. Damage left after Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Phillip Bantz/ALM.

A report analyzing data from federal insurance cases filed since 2009 found a major upswing in the numbers of such cases over the last several years, and confirms that federal courts are far more likely to rule in favor of insurers than claimants.

The Insurance Litigation Report released by Lex Machina Tuesday sifted data from more than 93,000 insurance cases filed between 2009 and 2017. It reveals a large jump in automobile and uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, which rose by 39 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

There was an even larger spike in homeowner claims, which rose by 80 percent.

Read the report:

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Other insurance cases, such as those involving disability, long-term care and commercial property claims, also rose by almost 25 percent.

Top Plaintiff Firms/Cases Filed

  • Merlin Law Group – 901
  • Pandit Law Firm – 855
  • The Voss Law Firm – 325
  • Ellis, Ged & Bodden – 250
  • Daly & Black – 249
  • The Mostyn Law Firm – 241
  • Ketterman Rowland & Westlund – 236
  • Hinshaw & Culbertson – 226
  • Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker – 198
  • Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams – 179
  • Speights & Worrich – 178
  • Boyer, Hebert, Abels & Angelle – 150
  • McClenny Moseley & Associates – 150
  • The Aguilera Law Group – 147
  • Cozen O'Connor – 144

At the same time, life insurance claims dropped by 20 percent over the same period, the report said.