Insurance commissioner aims to boost penalties for bad actors

Plus a bid to block rent-fixing bots, PACs stack dollars for dueling Seattle propositions, and recommended reading.

Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer campaigned on the promise of stronger consumer protection and greater oversight of the industry she now regulates. She’s no stranger to battling the insurance industry, both in the courtroom as a prosecutor and in her personal life as a mother, so we weren’t surprised when Kuderer requested legislation to strengthen the office’s enforcement power—and sparked a fight between the regulatory agency and a subset of the insurance industry.

House Bill 1199 from Rep. Jamila Taylor, D-Federal Way, and its companion, Senate Bill 5331 from Sen. Adrian Cortes, D-Battle Ground, would give the agency new authority to seek restitution for consumers wronged by their insurers and would increase the agency’s penalties for property and casualty insurance companies that break the law. Both bills were heard in their respective committees last week.

Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer doesn’t have a seat in the Senate anymore, but she’s still backing bills in the Legislature. (And we need a new photo of her.)