Senate subcommittee debates timeline changes to bad-faith insurance claims; members seek compromise

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard competing testimony on proposed changes to South Carolina bad‑faith insurance law that would set statutory deadlines for insurers to respond to pre‑suit demands and to post‑suit bad‑faith claims.

The changes under discussion would create a mandatory delay period before an insured or claimant may file a bad‑faith suit — provisions that witnesses warned could force small businesses and owner‑operators into bankruptcy if insurers withheld payment for months. Lee Cope, a witness who identified himself to the subcommittee, said, "This 3 to 13 month time period ... makes 0 sense to me" and argued the change would give insurers a built‑in financial incentive to delay payments. "If I can hold on to that claim by this bill for 13 months, I'm gonna pay less," Cope told the panel.

Rob Moseley, another witness who described practical…