Coalition urges voters to Approve 67

[eridani]

Make insurance industry treat consumers fairly

SEATTLE -- A growing coalition of more than 30 organizations including firefighters, seniors, consumer groups and health-care providers have joined the Approve 67 campaign. Referendum 67 requires the insurance industry to be fair and pay legitimate claims in a reasonable and timely manner. Right now, there's no penalty if insurers don't act responsibly or if they violate fair practice regulations.

"Referendum 67 simply says the insurance industry must treat you fairly and pay legitimate claims," said Sue Evans, spokesperson for the Approve 67 campaign. "People buy insurance, pay their premiums on time and all they ask in return is for the insurance industry to honor its commitment and deal with them honestly."

More than 4,100 Washington consumers filed complaints against the insurance industry with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner last year, but the agency has little power to enforce payment of legitimate claims. The Approve 67 campaign is reaching out to consumers and collecting their stories, stories like:

Tara Sadler -- A Selah mother of two who suffered permanent disabilities when her insurer delayed paying for treatment after a car accident;

Tom and Laura Thiery -- Small business owners who had to close down their restaurant and lay off employees because their insurer refused to pay for repairs midway through construction;

Marshall Ness -- A Tacoma man who was hit by an uninsured drunk driver and spent more than three years trying to settle his claim and receive necessary medical treatment. His credit was destroyed after his insurance company refused to pay his hospital bills.
"I am a third-generation State Farm customer who now has permanent disabilities because of State Farm's decision to delay my valid claim," said Tara Sadler of Selah. "I approve 67 because it will make it against the law to delay legitimate claims like mine. The insurance industry shouldn't put profits ahead of people."

The insurance industry is running an unprecedented multi-million campaign to defeat Referendum 67 that includes a phony consumer website to confuse voters and a million-dollar television ad campaign during the signature gathering effort. "Referendum 67 would make the insurance industry play by the rules and that's why they are spending millions to defeat it," said Evans.

You can sign up for Washington Network for Civil Justice & Accountability here--
http://ga3.org/no330/join.html?r=I7An79p1-sQvE

[eridani]

1. Webiste online now

We thought you would be interested to know that we launched the Approve 67 Campaign website today.

At www.approve67. org, you will find information about Referendum 67, the Approve 67 coalition, the latest news articles about Referendum 67, real stories of insurance industry unfairness, and much more.

Referendum 67 simply requires the insurance industry to be fair and pay legitimate claims in a reasonable and timely manner. Referendum 67 will help to ensure that the insurance industry honor their commitments to treat all policyholders honestly by making it against the law to unreasonably delay or deny legitimate claims.

Please visit www.approve67.org.