A bill that would have given Washington’s insurance commissioner the power to order restitution to harmed policyholders failed to pass out of a House committee this week.
Substitute Senate Bill 5331 failed to pass out of the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee on Wednesday. The bill was requested by Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer. The Washington Senate passed the bill in March.
SB 5331 would have enabled the state insurance commissioner to order an insurance company or person under Office of the Insurance Commissioner jurisdiction that violates state insurance laws to pay consumers back their money.
The commissioner can fine insurance entities that violate the law but can’t order them to pay restitution to the people they’ve victimized. The bill would have also authorized the commissioner to fine property/casualty insurance companies up to $10,000 per violation, rather than issue a total fine of $10,000.
“The Senate passed a strong consumer protection bill,” Kuderer said in a statement. “Unfortunately, an anti-consumer amendment to cap total fines caused members who would have otherwise supported the bill to vote against it.”
Topics Washington
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