Oregon — Another Bad Faith Bill

Published February 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM · News Releases and Bulletins

Every session of the Oregon Legislature over the past decade or so has included a bad faith bill. PIA Oregon Lobbyist Isis Thornton-Saunders of United Strategies & Consulting Associates said this year’s is Senate Bill 174.

There’s a public hearing on the bill on Wednesday, February 5th. It isn’t likely many of you will see this story before the hearing. Even though you may miss the hearing, there are ways you can influence the outcome.

We’ll explore them at the end of this story.

In her bulletin, Thornton-Saunders wrote if this one passes it will push insurance into the Unfair Trade Practices Act. “We’ve seen this concept before (and defeated it) in 2019 with SB 728,” Thornton-Saunders wrote. “This bill would significantly alter the regulation of insurance claims and expose insurance professionals to frivolous lawsuits and increased liability, ultimately raising costs for all Oregonians.”

Here are some of the things the bill will do to insurers and how it will impact agents:

Insurers and producers will be under dual regulation by the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) and the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA)
That creates redundant oversight and inconsistent enforcement
Private lawsuits will be allowed against agents and insurance companies for any claims-handling issue
This will make bad faith lawsuits more frequent and costly
The current system will be disrupted as Oregon has strong consumer protections through DCBS

Most of you will not be able to attend the hearing, or testify at that time. You should contact the state senators for your area and urge them to vote NO on SB 174.

You are also urged to contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to vote NO on SB 174. Emails should be sent separately to each legislator.

Please CC isis@ustrategies.org on any emails to legislators.

Senate Judiciary Committee Members

Senator Prozanski (D):

Email: Sen.FloydProzanski@OregonLegislature.gov

Phone: 503-986-1704

Senator Thatcher (R):

Email: sen.KimThatcher@oregonlegislature.gov

Phone 503-986-1711

Senator Broadman (D):

Email: sen.AnthonyBroadman@oregonlegislature.gov

Phone: 503-986-1727

Senator Gelser-Blouin (D):