Dear Neighbor,

Earlier this year, the state Office of Insurance Commissioner (OIC) issued an emergency rule prohibiting the use of credit scores in determining insurance premiums. I have heard from many of you who have or will soon be seeing significant increases in your insurance premiums because of this ruling. This will cause some of you who file few claims to pay higher premiums than individuals who file frequent claims. While I would like to find a way to help those with poor credit, I ultimately disagree with this policy as it should not come at the expense of hurting those with good credit, namely our state’s senior citizens who spent years responsibly building up their credit.

Just this week, a Thurston County Judge ended the OIC’s emergency ruling that eliminates credit scores to determine rates. The OIC now has the option to appeal the ruling or go through the formal rulemaking process – meaning this policy could potentially move forward.

This is where you can weigh in! If you’re one of the many people whose premiums are going up because of this policy change, a public hearing is being held on November 23 at 9:30 a.m. via zoom. You can register for the public hearing here. Comments on the proposed rule language are due November 22, 2021; please send them to rulescoordinator@oic.wa.gov.

For more information, including the proposed rule language (CR-102), please visit the rule’s webpage.

Sincerely,