Washington State Voters Approve the Insurance Fair Conduct Act
The Seattle Times is reporting this morning that Referendum 67 was approved by voters by a margin of 57% to 43% in Tuesday’s election. As we have previously reported, the Referendum allows the unprecedented remedy of uncapped treble damages awarded at the discretion of the trial court for “unreasonable” denials of claims for coverage or payment of benefits, or violations of the Washington Administrative Code regulations concerning improper claims handling. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies issued a statement this morning indicating that passage of the Referendum will likely lead to increased rates for Washington consumers and that the organization will work with lawmakers to repeal the IFCA during the next legislative session.
