PCI Raps Bad Faith Law

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is trumpeting research indicating that a 2007 bad faith law enacted in Washington State has increased the cost of insurance for consumers.

The study, released by the Insurance Research Council (IRC), examined the impact of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA), enacted by the Washington State Legislature.  The act “provides legal remedies for policyholders, including the ability to seek punitive damages in court if their claims are unreasonably denied by their insurance companies or their insurance company violates particular regulations governing unfair claims settlement practices.”

The research found that the IFCA, which has increased litigation and settlements resulting in $190 million in higher insurance costs for homeowners over two years.

“By creating the lowest standard in the country for someone to file a first-party bad faith lawsuit and allowing insurers to be sued for three times the amount of damages, plus attorney fees, the law has led to larger payouts for personal injury lawyers and an increase in costs borne by insurers and policyholders,” Kenton Brine, AVP of PCI said in a statement, noting that thousands of lawsuits against insurers since the law took effect in December 2007. “The threat of costly litigation and exposure to court-awarded treble damages and attorney fees has forced insurers to settle more claims with little investigation or pay claims in excess of their true value. That threat–and those costs –show no sign of relenting in 2011 or beyond.”