Auto dealers need to be aware of changing juror attitudes and legal system abuse
AutomotiveLegal System AbuseArticleNovember 4, 2025
Auto dealerships are frequent targets for litigation and in today’s legal climate, they can be at great risk of paying out large jury awards. A widespread shift in the viewpoints of jurors, driven in part by a growing skepticism towards large businesses and other societal factors have led to a growing number of these “nuclear” verdicts. Widespread advertising campaigns and third-party lawsuit funding have also played a major role in this trend known as social inflation.
During this webinar, Zurich’s Mahima Raghav, AVP & Senior Consultant for Claims Judicial & Legislative Affairs; Tim Lynch, Assistant Vice President, State Affairs for Government & Regulatory Relations; and Craig Davidson, Head of Property & Casualty Underwriting for Direct Markets; discuss this pressing topic. They also share examples of litigation abuse and discuss how auto dealerships and other businesses can help in a growing movement to help ensure a fair and balanced legal system.
This webinar was originally presented live on November 4, 2025.
Additional resources
Large Claims - Lessons Learned Resources
Legal System Abuse and Social Inflation Resource Hub
Prevent Claims of Negligence at Your Dealership
Compliance Resources for Auto Dealerships
Presenters
Craig Davidson is the Head of Property & Casualty Underwriting for Zurich North America’s Direct Markets business unit, where he has led a team specializing in franchised auto dealers, retail auto rental operations, and rental counter products since January 2019. Previously, he was the Vice President of Zurich Agency Services (ZAS), a fully licensed agency offering specialized coverage solutions and specialty markets for Direct Markets. Prior to this role, he was the Zurich Business Lead for the Unicover Transformation project, where he drove the Direct Markets conversion from a proprietary rating and policy issuance system to a new shared platform.
Davidson joined Universal Underwriters Group/Zurich in 1996 as an underwriting manager. He has since held positions of increasing responsibility within Direct Markets, including Assistant Vice President of Underwriting, where he developed and implemented underwriting guidelines, pricing and strategy for the aftermarkets and retail businesses. He began his insurance career with Sentry Insurance in 1987 as a multi-line underwriter.
Davidson has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and holds a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.
Tim Lynch is Assistant Vice President, State Affairs on the Government & Regulatory Relations team for Zurich North America. He is responsible for managing legislative and regulatory issues in 13 states in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains regions. In addition, Lynch serves as a team leader on commercial auto and travel insurance issues. He began his career with Zurich in May of 2023.
Prior to joining Zurich, Lynch was the Senior Director of Government Affairs for the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). He led legislative initiatives in approximately 20 states, working in partnership with state and national trade associations. Prior to joining NICB, Lynch led government affairs activities at the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and began his career working on staff with the Illinois House of Representatives. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Purdue University.
Mahima Raghav is Senior Consultant, Claims Judicial and Legislative Affairs for Zurich North America. Raghav brings past experience as a litigator in Worker’s Compensation and as a Regional Litigation Manager to her work for Zurich, as well as an extensive knowledge of claims-handling issues. She has also participated in internal projects using design-thinking, which has trained her to seek creative solutions to complex business challenges.
As part of Zurich’s social inflation task force, Raghav works to build a coalition among customers, brokers, and carriers to address this pressing issue. With efforts to educate the industry and bring the claims process to life for lawmakers, she is committed to helping create positive change for a fairer future. Raghav has a BA in Psychology from UCLA and a JD from Southwestern Law School.