Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Commissioner Tells Insurers to Give Relief on Premium Payments, Cancellations
Dec 17 2025 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer issued an emergency order that includes asking insurers in the state to provide grace periods for premium payments and a cancelation moratorium. The order was drafted to...
Washington Commissioner Issues Letter to Insurers Outlining Post-Flood Expectations
Dec 16 2025 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer issued guidance for flood survivors and the insurance companies and adjusters handling their claims following the evacuation of thousands of Western Washington residents from...
Washington Commissioner Fines Illegal Health Insurer $350,000
Dec 15 2025 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer fined ClearShare Health, Clearwater Benefits LLC, and three related companies $350,000 for selling unauthorized health insurance. Kuderer also ordered the companies to stop...
Washington Faces Historic Floods That Have Washed Away Homes, Stranded Families
Dec 12 2025 // Days of torrential rain in Washington state caused historic floods that have stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped at least two homes from their foundations, and experts warned that even more...
Excavator Bucket That Crushed Worker Leads to $170K Fine for Washington Contractor
Dec 9 2025 // A contractor was fined $170,000 for workplace violations that resulted in a 3,000-pound excavator bucket falling on an employee in southwest Washington. The Rotschy Inc. construction company was hit with $170,000 in fines...
Nine Insurers OK’d to Sell Group Health to Washington Employers
Dec 4 2025 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer approved nine health insurers to sell group health plans to small employers in 2026. The insurers are: Asuris Northwest Health, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the...
Report Asks Washington Lawmakers to Require Insurers to Better Track Wildfire Risk
Dec 3 2025 // A working group on wildfires in Washington wants the state Legislature to consider requiring insurers to internally track instances in which wildfire risk materially contributes to a policy nonrenewal, cancellation or...
Washington Workers’ Comp Average Premium Going up 4.9% in 2026
Dec 1 2025 // The average cost of workers’ compensation insurance in Washington is set to rise 4.9% for 2026. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced that employers and workers will pay on average $1.37...
Washington Commissioner Tells Thin Blue Line to Stop Selling Unlicensed Coverage
Nov 26 2025 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer ordered Thin Blue Line Benefits to stop selling insurance in Washington after investigators found the company had been operating without the required state license,. The OIC...
Washington Labor Inspectors Catch 41 Unregistered Contractors
Nov 25 2025 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited 41 people for unregistered contracting, or for unlicensed plumbing and electrical work during inspections at nearly 350 construction sites over the course of...
Tesla Sued Over Fatal Crash in Washington in Growing Scrutiny of Doors
Nov 24 2025 // Tesla Inc. was sued over a fiery crash in Washington state that left one person dead and another seriously injured after rescuers allegedly struggled to open the vehicle’s doors, the latest in a growing body of...
Washington Woman’s Fraud Conviction Saves System $1.3M in Lifetime Payments
Nov 7 2025 // An Auburn, Washington woman was convicted for fraud after receiving a lifetime pension following her reported injury while working at a supply company. Lemapu Dorothy Seinafo, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of...
Washington Commissioner Issued $828K in Fines for Insurance Violations
Oct 31 2025 // Washington insurance regulator fines for violations amounted to $828,500 in July, August, September, and early October of 2025, according to the office of Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer. That tally...
Washington Supreme Court Restores $185M Monsanto Chemical Leak Verdict
Oct 30 2025 // A U.S. court reinstated a $185 million verdict against Bayer’s Monsanto unit over chemical contamination at a Washington state school on Thursday. The Washington state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that...
Washington Dairy Worker Pleads Guilty in $122K Workers’ Comp Scam
Oct 9 2025 // A dairy worker in Skagit County, Washington who said he was too injured to work pleaded guilty to illegally taking workers’ compensation payments. Efrain Alatorre Camarena, 58, pleaded guilty to three counts of...
Connecticut Family Is First to Sue Over Washington Plane Crash That Killed 67
Oct 1 2025 // The Connecticut family of one of the 67 people killed when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., sued the government and the airlines involved last week, saying they didn’t recognize the...
Washington’s Minimum Wage Heading to $17.13 in 2026
Oct 1 2025 // Washington’s minimum wage will rise 2.8% next year to $17.13 per hour. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced the increase, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2026. State law requires L&I to...
Root Insurance Expands Driving Behavior Product to Washington
Sep 23 2025 // Root Insurance has brought its driving behavior insuring pricing model to Washington in an expansion of its West Coast footprint. Root now offers its product to drivers in Washington, Oregon and California. Root’s...
Washington Excavator Fined $140K for Workplace Safety Violations
Sep 19 2025 // A Clark County, Washington excavating company was fined $140,500 for knowingly putting workers in danger after a Washington Labor & Industries inspector witnessed employees pulling co-workers out of a 12-foot-deep...
Workers’ Comp Rate Increase Proposed in Washington
Sep 17 2025 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a 4.9% increase in the average hourly rate employers and workers pay for workers’ compensation insurance in 2026. L&I says the increase would...
