Oregon Insurance Reform Champions Continue to Press for Broader Change

Champions of changes to the insurance code that would benefit policyholders, both commercial and individual, are not giving up hope on the idea behind HB3160, which was to remove the exemption of insurance companies from the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices act.  One key component of that effort was to enact a private right of action for violations of Oregon's Unfair Claims Settlement  Practices Act (UCSPA).  At this point the consumer protections in that law are only enforceable by the Insurance Division, which does not have the resources to act on every instance of insurer misbehavior, and has limited ability to make consumers whole.  The insurance industry howled at the idea of being subject to the Unfair Trade Practices Act, so legislators are now proposing a more focused amendment to the UCSPA in SB 414, available here.  While not perfect, this legislation would be a broad-based improvement that would help level the incredibly uneven playing field that Oregon's small businesses now must play on to get their insurance companies to honor their contracts and step up when called upon.

Oregon Senate Committee Makes "Do Pass" Recommendation for Insurance UTPA Bill

Reports of the demise of HB 3160, which would remove the exemption of insurance from claims under Oregon's Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA), may have been wrong.  The Oregon Senate Consumer and Small Business Committee has made a "do pass" recommendation on the bill.  However, the measure has been referred to the Rules committee.  As the legislative session winds down, predictions had been that the opposition of small-town insurance brokers, in-state carriers like The Standard, and Associated Oregon Industries was going to again spell defeat for this common-sense measure.  Hopefully proponents will succeed in pulling out a victory in the coming days.

HB 3160 :: Oregon Legislature Bill Tracker - Your Government - The Oregonian:

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