OLYMPIA— A package of consumer protection bills targeting key fixes in the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) and insurance industry was introduced today by Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue).
“The Washington State Consumer Protection Package is our response to community calls for changes that empower the Office of the Insurance Commissioner with the tools it needs to both look out for the consumer and keep insurance providers operating at peak efficiency,” said Kuderer.
Four complementary bills make up the package: SB 5797, which concerns fines levied on insurers; SB 5798, which extends certain insurance notice requirements; SB 5806, which concerns the confidentiality of insurance company data; and SB 5842, which restricts the use of social security numbers by insurance companies for the purpose of determining child support debt.
Kuderer added, “It has been more than 50 years since some of these policies were updated. The world has changed, the industry has changed and so should we – which makes these bills necessary. These are simple edits that pave the way for big protections. We’re safeguarding social security numbers from potential data breaches, protecting sensitive and proprietary information from large public data searches, fixing an outlier in the OIC’s fine limit, and lengthening the cancellation and nonrenewal notice window that companies must provide so customers have more time to shop around for replacement coverage.”
