Washington: Insurance Fair Conduct Act Goes into Effect on Dec. 6

Referendum 67, the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, which was approved by 57 percent of the voters in the Nov. 6 election, will go into effect on Dec. 6. NAMIC joined Consumers Against Higher Insurance Rates to oppose the passage of this unnecessary and excessive “bad faith” legislation passed by the state Legislature in the 2007 session.

“ESSB 5726 will provide trial attorney’s with a legal cause of action to assert first-party bad faith lawsuits against carriers for punitive damages in cases where a carrier denies a claim and the policyholder believes the settlement denial was simply ‘unreasonable.’ It also allows for bad faith claims based upon a mere unintentional technical violation of the Washington Administrative Code. said Christian J. Rataj, NAMIC’s Western state affairs manager. “Voters in the state fell prey to the scare tactics of the trial lawyers association and let their unfounded fears lead them to approve a law that will facilitate the filing of frivolous lawsuits and, ultimately, drive up insurance rates for the general consumer.”

Direct questions to NAMIC State Affairs Manager Christian J. Rataj.

Posted: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 10:32:54 AM.

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We are 1,400 property/casualty insurance companies serving more than 135 million auto, home and business policyholders, with more than $196 billion in premiums accounting for 50 percent of the automobile/homeowners market and 31 percent of the business insurance market. We are the largest and most diverse property/casualty trade association in the country, with regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America joining many of the country’s largest national insurers who also call NAMIC their home. More than 200,000 people are employed by NAMIC members.