A Legacy of Advocacy
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hands Washington State Insurance Commissioner Karl Herrmann the pen used to sign a pro-consumer law advocated by Herrmann. Washington Senator Warren Magnuson stands beside Herrmann.
Our founder, Karl Herrmann, was first elected to the Washington State Senate in 1956. He was soon appointed chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance.
He later chaired a Special Joint Interim Committee on Insurance that catapulted him to election as the Washington State Insurance Commissioner in 1968. As Insurance Commissioner, he took a tough pro-consumer stance against insurance companies. He was was re-elected in 1972. He set the record as the first candidate in Washington to receive more than one million votes.
Among his many accomplishments, he developed Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which is vital to people who have been injured in auto accidents. He also led Washington to become the first state in the nation to create a guaranty fund that pays policy holders when an insurance company goes bankrupt.
He gained national recognition for his effort when President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the first pen he used to sign national consumer legislation based on Herrmann’s model in Washington State.
Herrmann was also a leader in ending the insurance practice of “redlining.” As the Spokesman Review wrote in an article after his death, “Insurance companies had previously refused to write policies in what they considered ethnic ghettos. That, in turn, prevented people in those neighborhoods from getting home loans. The term came from the red lines drawn on maps to define the neighborhoods.”
Karl Herrmann’s commitment to equal justice was passed on to his son Charles Herrmann, Chairman of Herrmann Law Group, a renowned aviation and injury attorney. Lara Herrmann, CEO of HLG, continues the proud tradition of her father and grandfather, fighting for the rights of victims against insurance companies and other large corporations.
Karl’s values survive at HLG where our entire team of attorneys, community representatives, and support staff are proud to carry on his commitment to championing the rights of injured people.