Washington: Legislative Victories, Updates at Committee Cutoff

The first few weeks of the Washington state legislative session have been busy as it has reached the half-way point. NAMIC and its industry partners have been tracking more than 40 bills of concern to the industry. Through the association’s lobbying efforts, major legislation opposed by NAMIC did not make it out of committee. While these bills are not technically dead until the final gavel of session, the association does not anticipate that any of them will get pulled directly to the floor for a vote.

Of particular note are a number of bills that were high on the industry’s opposition list.

• SB 5059 would have modified the accrual date for interest on tort judgments to the date of the cause of action. This bill died in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
• HB 2011/SB 6252 would have required automobile insurance contracts to include an express right to appraisal to resolve disputes. All legal fees and associated costs would be the responsibility of the insurer if the appraisal came back higher than the insurance estimate. There were questions raised about the exclusive use of OEM parts. These bills died in committee, but the chair requested an interim meeting between industry and repair facilities to discuss this issue further.
• SB 5963 would have required individuals who own a firearm to maintain a residential dwelling insurance policy that covers loss or damages resulting from the accidental discharge of a firearm. It also would have had brokers and producers inform customers of the requirement and inquire about firearm ownership. This bill died in committee.
• SB 5797 would have increased the amount that an authorized insurer could be fined by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to $25,000 per violation. Current law allows a range of $250 to $10,000 and does not specify that it is per violation. This bill died in committee.
• SB 6081 would have required every consumer and insurance contract be written in plain language and established civil penalties for violation of the requirement. This bill died in committee.

NAMIC and its industry partners offered strong opposition to all these bills through public testimony, written testimony, and meetings with legislators; however, the association expects to see some of these proposals resurface in the future.

Also, of note there are two bills that NAMIC was able to get amended in a substantial manner.

• HB 2330 created a wildfire mitigation grant program and would have added substantial transparency requirements to insurers in the event of a rate increase, cancellation, or non-renewal for homeowners insurance policies based on the use of a wildfire risk score. NAMIC worked with the sponsor to amend this bill to a work group that will develop recommendations for the Legislature. This bill passed out of committee and is currently waiting for a vote in the House of Representatives.
• SB 5798 would have extended written notice for cancellation of nonrenewal of an auto insurance policy from 20 to 60 days and from 45 to 60 days for health and property/casualty insurance policies. This bill has been amended so that the auto insurance portion of the bill moves from 20 to 30 days. While NAMIC is hopeful to make more progress, this amendment was a hard-fought win.

The Washington state Legislature now has until Feb. 13 to consider and pass bills out of their house of origin for consideration in the opposite body. The legislative session ends on March 7.