Substitute House Bill 2329 — Study of the Insurance Market for Housing Providers (2024 Regular Session)

Summary

Substitute House Bill 2329 of the State of Washington, by House Consumer Protection & Business, relating to conducting a study of the insurance market for housing providers receiving housing trust fund resources. It directs the office of the insurance commissioner to study the property and liability coverages available to housing providers serving extremely low-income households. The commissioner is to obtain data from the previous five years on policies in effect, nonrenewals or cancellations, claims activity, and premiums and deductibles. The report to the appropriate committees of the legislature, due by December 31, 2024, is to make recommendations on policy or budget options, including a single-state or multistate high-risk sharing pool.

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Cite this document

“Substitute House Bill 2329 — Study of the Insurance Market for Housing Providers (2024 Regular Session).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-02-20-a31985-bill-2329-s-2b55846e42/, SHA-256 7cac804236ac0d28db571395207a75faabf426075bdcf0b47ec068cac6053930.

Full text

     H-3047.1

                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2329


     State of Washington         68th Legislature       2024 Regular Session

     By House Consumer Protection & Business (originally sponsored by
     Representatives Macri, Peterson, Alvarado, Chopp, Bateman, Pollet,
     Reed, and Ramel)

     READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.




1        AN ACT Relating to conducting a study of the insurance market for
2    housing providers receiving housing trust fund resources; creating
3    new sections; and providing an expiration date.


4    BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 5       NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that homelessness is
 6   a multifaceted challenge that requires multiple creative solutions to
 7   house and shelter people in a way that prioritizes empathy,
 8   compassion, and safety. Housing providers receiving housing trust
 9   fund resources play a pivotal role by meeting the affordable housing
10   needs of extremely low-income households, including housing people
11   who are chronically homeless and pairing housing with case management
12   and supportive services.
13       The legislature further finds that housing providers receiving
14   housing   trust  fund   resources  in   Washington  are   experiencing
15   difficulties with their insurance coverages, including affordability
16   and nonrenewal of policies. Providers cannot operate without
17   insurance and Washington communities cannot thrive without these
18   critical providers. The state must keep these housing providers in
19   operation and ensure that they are appropriately insured so that the
20   state can continue to house some of its most vulnerable residents.


                                       p. 1                         SHB 2329
 1       NEW SECTION.     Sec. 2.     (1) The office of the insurance
 2   commissioner, in consultation with housing providers receiving
 3   housing trust fund resources under RCW 43.185A.130 and serving
 4   extremely low-income households as defined in RCW 36.70A.030,
 5   authorized insurers, unauthorized insurers, providers of nonprofit
 6   insurance services, risk-sharing pools for public housing authorities
 7   and nongovernmental owners of affordable housing properties, risk
 8   retention groups, relevant association groups including the surplus
 9   lines association of Washington, and other relevant state agencies
10   including the department of enterprise services, the office of risk
11   management, and the department of commerce, shall conduct a study of
12   the property and liability coverages available to housing providers
13   receiving housing trust fund resources and serving extremely
14   low-income households.
15       (2) In conducting the study, the commissioner shall:
16       (a) Collect the information required under this section from
17   entities transacting insurance with housing providers described in
18   subsection (1) of this section, and any identified authorized
19   insurers, unauthorized insurers, and risk retention groups, are
20   required to provide the requested information to the commissioner;
21       (b) Obtain data from the previous five years on the number and
22   types of policies in effect, whether and why policies were nonrenewed
23   or canceled, claims activity, and premiums and deductibles; and
24       (c) Investigate and request any other relevant information that
25   may assist the commissioner with analyzing the availability of
26   property and liability coverages for housing providers described in
27   subsection (1) of this section and any other trends that may affect
28   market availability.
29       (3) Consistent with RCW 43.01.036, the commissioner shall submit
30   a report on its findings to the appropriate committees of the
31   legislature   by   December   31,   2024.   The   report   must   make
32   recommendations on potential policy or budget options, including
33   considerations regarding the development of a single-state or
34   multistate high-risk sharing pool and potential policy and budget
35   options to address reinsurance market volatility. The commissioner
36   may contract with a vendor to conduct an actuarial analysis if
37   necessary to facilitate the development of recommendations concerning
38   high-risk sharing pools under this subsection.
39       (4) Data requested by the commissioner for the purpose of
40   complying with the study and reporting requirements in this section
                                     p. 2                         SHB 2329
 1   is confidential by law and privileged and is not subject to public
 2   disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW. Nothing in this section prohibits
 3   the commissioner from preparing and publishing reports, analyses, or
 4   other documents using the data received under this section so long as
 5   the data is in aggregate form and does not permit the identification
 6   of information related to individual companies. Data in the aggregate
 7   form are deemed open records available for public inspection. Nothing
 8   in this section affects, limits, or amends the commissioner's
 9   authority under chapter 48.37 RCW.
10       (5) This section expires December 31, 2024.

                                  --- END ---




                                     p. 3                         SHB 2329

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