In a telephone conversation yesterday with a Safeco spokesman, I understood that the company had pledged to stay out of the campaign to repeal a new insurance law. PEMCO had done the same thing — putting the state's two largest insurers on the sidelines of a fight being financed by their out-of-state industry brethren behind Consumers Against Higher Insurance Rates.

But Safeco spokesman Paul Hollie called today to clarify the company's position. Safeco is following a different course than Pemco. I'm not sure what caused the confusion, but whatever the case, I now have a clear idea of the company's position.

Safeco has, in fact, committed to donating about $230,000 to the Ref. 67 campaign, adding to what is already a $650,000 campaign account to qualify the measure for the November ballot. But the company is also committed to working with Gov. Christine Gregoire, legislators and trial attorneys, to see if there can be agreement on a package of changes to the law.

The deadline in Safeco's view is July 21 when referendum signatures are due to the Secretary of State, said Gary Strannigan, Safeco's director of government relations. If a satisfactory agreement can be reached before that date, he said, Safeco would end its support for the repeal and not participate in the fall election campaign.

The industry opposed the "Insurance Fair Conduct Act" and urged Gregoire to veto it. Strannigan said:

"It's regrettable that the governor signed the bill but her initiating the work group to fix the flaws in the bill is certainly a good step and we treat it very favorably and have engaged very actively with her staff to try to craft a solution that would make this statute consistent with other state statutes on this matter."

Strannigan said it would take more than a commitment from the governor to fix the problems, though. He said the company also needs assurances from Democratic legislative leaders as well as the trial bar that a new bill would be passed next year.

"Passing a bill is a much more difficult thing than killing a bill. And this is a very high stakes thing. The bill that passes is the most far-reaching — some in my industry would call it outlandish — piece of legislation in the country on the subject."

Strannigan couldn't say whether other insurance interests now backing the referendum would also drop their support if an agreement could be reached. "Some of them are pretty confident that they could win the referendum contest," he said. Some of the differences come from differing perspectives of local and out-of-state companies.

"Their headquarters aren't in the state and don't to live with the consequences of a vigorously contested election campaign. I would say there are some who have not watched Governor Gregoire broker solutions to big ... problems as she has in the past."