Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

United States punitive damages: state-by-state standards, statutory caps, insurability and vicarious liability

Published by a LexisNexis Insurance & Reinsurance expert

Practice notes

By Jeffrey A. Goldwater and George J. Manos, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, (updated by the Practical Guidance attorney team)

This survey sets out the benchmarks for the imposition of punitive damages across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It gathers the pertinent statutes in every jurisdiction and provides an analysis of each legislative measure. The review further considers whether punitive damages can be insured in each state and examines the relevant statutes and judicial authorities that confront the insurability question in each jurisdiction. Distinct from compensatory awards, punitive damages are not intended to make a claimant whole; they exist to chastise the offender and to act as a deterrent. Liability for such damages is triggered by conduct of an extreme, egregious character, where the impugned behaviour is wilful, wanton, and deliberate. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, punitive damages are unavailable for breach of contract and arise far more commonly in tort cases. The retributive and deterrent functions of punitive damages spring from legal wrongs in which the breached duty reflects a social standard, rather than a promise grounded in a private contract. Indeed, the essence of the tort of bad faith breach of insurance contracts...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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