Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah), chair of the Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee, released the following statement today after Thurston County Superior Court Judge Indu Thomas invalidated a ban imposed by the state insurance commissioner on the use of credit scores in setting insurance rates:
“Anyone whose insurance premiums went up due to the insurance commissioner’s unilateral actions should be reassured that those actions have been ruled invalid by the court. This ruling affirms my objections that their insurance premiums were being raised unfairly and inappropriately.
“In other words, folks who had low insurance rates based on strong credit histories should be able to keep the low rates they had earned and which they deserved.
“I still hope to provide relief to people who are paying unreasonably high premiums, but that’s something we can and should be able to do without penalizing others. That was the goal of my proposed solution this past session and I plan to revive that effort when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“Given this ruling, I am hopeful next session that the insurance commissioner will abandon his opposition to the sound and proven use of credit histories. We have a clear path to strike a fair balance between the interests of everyone affected, and to provide transparent credit relief to Washingtonians that is wide-ranging and effective without punishing people who have rightly earned low insurance rates.”
