Kane County Reporter

A pair of insurance groups spoke out recently against House Bill 219, introduced in Illinois, saying it will impact public policy and drive up litigation costs by allowing for punitive damages in wrongful death cases.

In a May 17 report by Insurance Business Magazine, two of the groups were identified as American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) and the Illinois Insurance Association (IIA). They released a joint statement warning the bill could have a detrimental impact.

Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) took to Facebook to speak out against the bill, while also posting the Insurance Business Magazine report.

“The plaintiff has to be considered, absolutely, but there’s a company there and maybe there are some bad actors within that company, but there’s probably a whole lot of employees relying on that company to feed their families and everything else that may be adversely impacted by this as well,” Ugaste said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, which he posted on Facebook.

The bill was introduced by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), who said that it is designed to end the prohibition on insurance relating to paying punitive damages. The statement by APCIA-IIA said that this makes Illinois an outlier state for damages allowed in wrongful death situations. They also said that expanding the damages will lead to an increase in claims, lawsuits and costs related to defense, settlements and claims administration.

“A policy shift of this significance, expanding wrongful death recovery to allow for punitive damages, would likely have a detrimental impact on Illinois civil defendants, consumers, businesses, health-care providers and insurers due to increased claims, litigation, jury verdicts and settlements,” they said. “This would significantly increase insured losses, placing upward pressure on premiums.”

Those who support the bill say that the damages are designed to deter against potential negligence. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), noted that this legislation is in 34 other states, and he believes it is important to have these punitive damages in place for wrongful death cases.