Property & Casualty Insurance in Washington State

Summary

A document dated November 30, 2023, titled Property & Casualty Insurance in Washington State, that names the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade Committee and Kenton Brine, President, NWIC. It describes the Northwest Insurance Council's stated mission to inform media, consumers and policymakers about home, auto and business insurance in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Its Insurance 101 sections explain what homeowners, mobile home and renters policies cover and exclude, and list five common auto insurance policies, including liability, collision and comprehensive. A closing section says insurance for homes, businesses and vehicles remains available but can be challenging in some areas, and that the Council believes more than 100 home and business insurers are writing insurance in Washington.

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Full text

                                                          Property & Casualty Insurance in Washington State
                                               Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade Committee
                                                                                 Kenton Brine, President, NWIC
                                                                                           November 30, 2023

                           About Northwest Insurance Council




▪   Our mission is to inform media, consumers & policymakers about home, auto & business insurance in
    Washington, Oregon & Idaho.

▪   Our members are all Property & Casualty insurers – they primarily underwrite homes, businesses and
    vehicles. Some are national companies, others are regional. Some are mutual companies, owned by their
    policyholders, others are stock companies. Some are headquartered in Washington.
Insurance 101: About Homeowners, Renters and Mobile
Home insurance policies
Homeowners’ & Mobile Home Insurance Policies                     What these policies do NOT cover:
DO Cover:
▪ Damage or loss to your home and its contents from              Homeowners, Mobile Home and Renters
  theft, fire (including wildfire), wind or other covered        policies specifically exclude coverage for:
  peril.
▪ Cost of living outside your home during repairs.               ▪ Flooding from outside the home.
▪ Homeowner’s liability for accidents/injuries to others.        ▪ Earthquakes.
                                                                 ▪ Earth movement – landslides, mudflow and
Note: time and dollar limits, deductibles affect the coverage.     sinkholes.

Renters’ Insurance Covers:                                       Note: coverage for these perils is typically available. For
▪ Damage or loss to your possessions in your rental              flood, consider the National Flood Insurance Program. For
                                                                 the other perils, consider specialty lines “Difference In
  space (apartment, condo, house, etc).                          Conditions” coverage.
▪ Limited liability coverage for the renter for
  accidents/injuries to others.
Note: time and $$$ limits, deductibles affect the coverage.
Insurance 101: About Auto insurance policies
Five Common Auto Insurance Policies:

▪ Liability Insurance – provides coverage to the policyholder for claims against them
  for damages or injuries they cause to others.
▪ Collision Insurance – provides coverage for damage to the policyholder’s own
  vehicle if involved in a collision with another vehicle or other object (tree, guardrail,
  ditch, etc.).
▪ Comprehensive Insurance – provides coverage for the policyholder’s vehicle due to
  weather damage, hit & run while parked, vandalism or theft, or if the vehicle strikes a
  deer or other wildlife.
▪ Personal Injury Protection (PIP, or MedPay) – provides coverage for injured
  passengers in the policyholders’ vehicle due to a collision.
▪ Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): Provides coverage to the
  policyholder for injuries or damages caused by a driver who has no liability insurance,
  or whose liability insurance limits are insufficient to pay for damages or injuries.
What insurance consumers & policymakers should know
about home, business and auto insurance in Washington.
1. Insurance for homes, businesses and vehicles is          2. There are significant efforts underway to
remains available – but can be challenging in some          encourage property-level mitigation and
areas, for some properties - and costs are rising.          community-level resilience to disasters.

▪ We believe more than 100 home and business insurers       ▪ FEMA and states like CA, LA, MN and TX are working on
  are writing insurance for homeowners, renters, small        mitigation grant programs to help property owners
  businesses and drivers in Washington.                       better mitigate the risk of damage from natural
                                                              disasters.
▪ Due to rising repair and rebuilding costs and
  underwriting losses (when claims payouts exceed           ▪ Insurers and organizations including the National Fire
  premiums) insurers are re-evaluating risk exposures,        Protection Association and the Insurance Institute for
  particularly in areas that are at risk for large-scale      Business & Home Safety are deeply engaged in
  disasters (weather, wildfire) and for repetitive claims     resiliency research (Wildfire Prepared Home, etc.).
  (property crimes, auto theft). And in some cases, they
                                                            ▪ Insurers are investing in risk-evaluation tools to more
  are increasing premiums, especially for higher-risks.
                                                              accurately evaluate and price risk.
▪ For consumers, this could mean premium increases, or      ▪ Maintaining a healthy, competitive insurance market is
  the need to seek new or additional coverage for their       critical to responding to the state’s housing crisis and
  home, business or vehicle.                                  the rise in percentage of uninsured drivers.


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