Through an online survey of more than 2,000 respondents, this report examines public opinions on attorney involvement in auto insurance claims, updating and expanding the Insurance Research Council's prior research on the subject. The analysis covers attorney advertising and its impacts, awareness of litigation financing, recent claim and attorney experiences, and reasons consumers choose or decline legal representation.
Attorney involvement is common and often begins soon after an accident, while widespread advertising and concerns about compensation, claim complexity, and fairness continue to shape consumers’ expectations.
Key Findings
- Attorney advertising remains widespread and is growing: more than nine in ten respondents saw attorney ads in the past year, with TV remaining the leading medium.
- Most consumers believe attorney advertising increases claims and lawsuits, and roughly half believe it raises the cost of insurance.
- Nearly one in four respondents filed an auto injury claim in the past three years; about seven in ten of those claimants consulted or hired an attorney, often within days of the accident.
- Asked in their own words, consumers most often cite injury severity, fair compensation, and questions of fault as reasons to hire an attorney, while the cost of legal services is the most commonly cited reason not to
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