COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers are questioning why insurance rates keep climbing and what can be done to ease costs for families, while some are accusing insurance companies of discriminating against certain groups.

Doug Quinn, a homeowner who testified before the panel, said his insurance company failed him after a natural disaster swept through South Carolina and he lost his home. He says his company falsified an engineering report and refrauded him.

“Despite paying an exorbitant price for the maximum legal amount of insurance coverage, it took me seven years to rebuild and return back home,” Quinn said.

A special House committee has been studying insurance rates for months , from fraud, to tort reform, to protections for policyholders. Opinions differ on which of those i

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