In recent years, a noticeable shift has taken place in insurance-related lawsuits across U.S. federal courts. Since 2022, the number and types of disputes over insurance coverage have changed significantly, moving away from patterns seen during the pandemic and the earlier decade. New data reveals that claims under homeowners’ policies, business liability coverage disagreements, and business interruption lawsuits are all on the rise, each for different but connected reasons.
Homeowners’ insurance cases have been steadily increasing since 2018, and 2024 saw the highest number filed in over a decade. Interestingly, these cases mostly don’t involve hurricanes. Instead, many relate to damage caused by other weather events like heavy rain, flooding, strong winds, and storms. Early 2025 data shows this upward trend continuing, suggesting that climate-related losses are becoming a major driver of claims.
At the same time, disputes over business liability insurance have climbed sharply since 2021. More than 3,000 cases were filed in 2024, the busiest year in this area since 2010. Experts point to several reasons for this surge. Social issues that carry higher costs, new challenges in deciding coverage denials, and fresh risks linked to technology are all contributing to more lawsuits. Cybersecurity threats, concerns about environmental, social, and governance matters, and questions about artificial intelligence are creating new legal grounds for coverage fights. Insurers are also adopting a tougher stance on denying claims, which is sparking more court battles.
Business interruption insurance claims, which saw a spike early in the pandemic due to closures, are also sticking around longer than expected. In 2024, over 650 lawsuits appeared in federal courts—more than 50% higher than any year before the pandemic. Recent filings suggest the numbers keep growing in 2025. The focus of these cases has shifted from COVID-19 issues to damages caused by weather and climate problems like flooding, strong winds, hail, and wildfires.
What’s clear from all this is that insurance lawsuits today are influenced by a mix of social changes, environmental challenges, and technology risks. This variety means insurers, lawyers, and analysts need to pay attention to how these different factors affect claims across homeowners’, business liability, and business interruption policies. Understanding these trends will be important for handling risks and preparing for the types of disputes likely to come in the near future.