Insurance Co. of North America Companies v. Sullivan

352 P.2d 193, 56 Wash. 2d 251, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 344
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedMay 19, 1960
Docket35042
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 352 P.2d 193 (Insurance Co. of North America Companies v. Sullivan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Insurance Co. of North America Companies v. Sullivan, 352 P.2d 193, 56 Wash. 2d 251, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 344 (Wash. 1960).

Opinions

Finley, J.

— The Insurance Company of North America Companies (hereinafter referred to as appellant) is an out-of-state insurer, authorized to write fire insurance in this state. The judgment of the trial court, from which this appeal is taken, affirmed a ruling of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Washington (hereinafter referred to as respondent) that the appellant, under the applicable provisions of RCW 48.19 (Laws of 1947, chapter 79, § 19, p. 380, as amended, in part, by Laws of 1957, chapter 193, p. 726) relating to insurance rates, may not file all of its fire insurance rate schedules, independently, and, at the same time, retain any of the services of the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau. This latter entity (hereinafter referred to as the rating bureau) is an insurance rating organization, duly licensed under RCW 48.19.170 (Laws of 1947, chapter 79, § 19.17) for the purpose, inter alia, of filing with the respondent insurance rate schedules for subscribing members, such as appellant. A rating organization pro[253]*253posing to act as such with respect to insurance under standard form fire policies must be conducted as a nonprofit public service institution, owned in trust for the benefit of its insurance company subscribers. RCW 48.19.170 (2) (b).

For a number of years prior to April 17, 1958, the appellant had been a subscriber of the rating bureau. The bureau had been authorized to make and had made all of the appellant’s fire insurance rate filings. However, on the above-noted date, the appellant, itself, filed a complete set of fire insurance rates with the respondent and, simultaneously, informed the respondent that it would continue to utilize certain of the rating bureau services, but that, henceforth, it would assume sole responsibility for its own rates and filings. The rate schedule which appellant filed was identical to the rate schedule last previously filed for appellant by the rating bureau. The respondent commissioner rejected the appellant’s independent filing on the sole ground that, in his opinion, the appellant, while continuing to affiliate with the rating bureau, could not legally make independent filings as to the classes of insurance respecting which the rating bureau was empowered by law to make filings on behalf of its subscribers. The appropriate procedure for review of this ruling was followed by the appellant. In the trial before the Superior Court for Thurston county, the judge affirmed the ruling of the respondent commissioner.

It is apparent from the brief submitted by the rating bureau, as an intervener in the instant case, as well as from the briefs and arguments of both the appellant and the respondent, that a rating organization is essentially a research body, the end product of such research being the promulgation of rates, rules and forms for fire insurance and allied lines of insurance for the benefit of affiliated insurers. Obviously, it is not mandatory for an insurer to affiliate with a rating organization (RCW 48.19.150), and it is not disputed that independent filings may be made by a nonaffiliated insurer. On the other hand, RCW 48.19.050 (2), (Laws of 1947, chapter 79, § 19.05, amended by Laws of 1957, [254]*254chapter 193, § 13, in a manner immaterial to the instant problem) expressly provides:

“As to fire insurance under a standard form fire policy, . . . an insurer may . . . authorize a rating organization to make all its filings only, and may not make a portion of such filings on its own behalf and authorize a rating organization to make other such filings. . . .” (Italics ours.)

Apparently, in the instant case the appellant desires to be neither completely independent of the rating bureau (which, as we have observed, is clearly permissible) nor an affiliate in the sense that is prohibited by the above-quoted portion of RCW 48.19.050 (to make some filings on its own behalf, while authorizing the rating bureau to make other filings). Rather, it appears that the appellant wishes, to affiliate with the rating bureau for the purpose of utilizing the research product of that organization, and, at the same time, to make all of its filings, independently.

Before we examine the respective arguments of the parties relative to this issue, we must dispose of a preliminary matter. The respondent commissioner urged in the trial court, and reiterates on this appeal, that, inasmuch as the appellant’s independent filings of April 17, 1958, were identical to the rate schedule previously filed on behalf of the appellant by the rating bureau, the appellant has not been aggrieved by the respondent’s ruling rejecting the independent filing, and, therefore, has no standing to challenge that ruling. We cannot agree with this contention. RCW 48.19.280 (Laws of 1947, chapter 79, § 19.28, as immaterially amended by Laws of 1957, chapter 193, § 14) contains a limitation upon the freedom of those insurers whose rate schedules are filed by a rating organization to deviate from the filed rate schedule, whereas no such statutory limitation on deviation is imposed on those insurers making independent filings. Thus, the respondent’s rejection of the appellant’s independent filing denied the appellant not merely an authorized rate schedule identical with the rate schedule previously allowed; but it also denied appellant the right to deviate from its authorized [255]*255rate schedule beyond the narrow limitations imposed by the above-noted RCW 48.19.280.

We türn now to a consideration of the primary issue involved in this appeal, which, for the sake of clarity and ease of reference, may be restated as follows: May an insurer, authorized to write fire insurance in this state, affiliate with a rating organization, such as the rating bureau, for the purpose of utilizing the research product of such organization and, at the same time, make all of its rate filings with the respondent insurance commissioner independently?

As a starting point, it is undisputed that the appellant, because it writes fire insurance in this state, is governed as to rates by RCW 48.19.010, et seq. Therefore, before it uses a particular rate schedule, appellant must cause such rate schedule to be filed with and approved by the respondent commissioner. RCW 48.19.040.

The arguments of the respective parties to this appeal consist, primarily, of references to various sections and subsections of the governing statute, RCW 48.19

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Insurance Co. of North America Companies v. Sullivan
352 P.2d 193 (Washington Supreme Court, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
352 P.2d 193, 56 Wash. 2d 251, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/insurance-co-of-north-america-companies-v-sullivan-wash-1960.