Homeowners' claims costs have been climbing in Wash., and a new study conducted by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) has identified legislation passed in 2007 as the most probable culprit.
Following the enactment of R-67—which was adopted by the Washington State Legislature in 2007 and approved in a statewide voter referendum—homeowners' claims costs were as much as $190 million greater than such claims otherwise would have been in the two-year period. Known also as “The Insurance Fair Conduct Act,” R-67 eased restrictions for aggrieved insurance claimants filing lawsuits alleging insurer misconduct.
“The intent was to expand the ability of policyholders to file bad-faith claims against insurers,” said David Corum, CPCU, vice president at IRC. “One of the provisions was to authorize payment of virtually unlimited punitive damages in those cases.”
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
