Alert! — Washington Supreme Court Limits “Insurance Fair Conduct Act”
Earlier this month, the Washington Supreme Court strictly limited Washington’s “Insurance Fair Conduct Act” (IFCA) private cause of action. Enacted in 2007, IFCA provides for uncapped triple-damages awards, and mandates attorney fee awards. However, the statute’s enabling provisions restrict IFCA claimants to insureds whose claims for coverage or payment of benefits are unreasonably denied. Therefore, as clarified in Perez-Cristanos v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2017 WL 448991, 2017 Wash. LEXIS 92, ___ Wn.2d ___ (2017), IFCA claims cannot proceed based only on alleged violations of claims regulations (for example, untimely insurer responses to the claimant’s communications), without a related denial of the insured’s coverage or benefits.
The full Cozen O’Connor Alert! is linked here.
Michael D. Handler is resident in the Seattle office where he is a member of the Global Insurance Group in our Litigation Department. Michael joined the firm in 2000 with a litigation-intensive background, and he became a member of the firm in 2002. With more than 18 years of legal experience in several states, Michael is litigating matters involving contractual and extracontractual claims, and he is advising insurers regarding some of their most challenging and interesting matters across the country.