Wildfire, and the threats they pose to homes and their access to insurance, have been a significant topic in Washington over the past few years. Two pieces of legislation aim to address those threats: Senate Bill 6079 and SB 5928.

Senator Shelly Short (R-Spokane) is a sponsor on both bills, and she joins Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer on this episode of the OIC Answers podcast’s On Campus miniseries to talk about why she sponsored the bills, how the grant program would work, what she learned from the Wildfire Resiliency and Mitigation Standards Work Group, and what wildfire risk scores mean for your home’s insurability.

SB 6079 would create the Strengthen Washington Homes program, which is a voluntary grant program to help people retrofit their homes to better withstand wildfire. It’s based on standards from the Insurance Institute for Home and Business Safety and modelled partially on a similar program for wind damage in Alabama.

SB 5928 concerns wildfire risk score models and score disclosure. Insurance companies use these risk scores, typically from third-party companies, to evaluate a property, decide if they’ll cover it, and help establish premiums.

If an insurance company takes your money, getting it back shouldn’t be a problem. That’s the basis behind Senate Bill 5331, which grants the Washington state Insurance Commissioner the authority to order companies that violate insurance laws to make the people they’ve harmed whole.

It’s an authority held by insurance regulators in 38 states —including North Dakota, where Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread worked to get a bill similar to SB 5331 passed last April.

Godfread joins Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer to talk about why he supported the bill, the discussions around passing it, and how a family of farmers defrauded by an insurance company showed the North Dakota legislature the importance of granting restitution authority to regulators.

Denny Heck does not read his own Wikipedia page — at least not recently. The Lieutenant Governor, who founded TVW, served in Congress, occasionally sits in for the Governor and does not suffer foolish podcast hosts, kicks off OIC Answers’ 2026 Legislative Session mini-series by chatting about his role as President of the State Senate; the importance of civil disagreement, political compromise and the first amendment; why performing the one-man show Our Times meant so much to him; and the start to an interview that left a state legislator legitimately slack-jawed.

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer will be hosting lawmakers and other guests from her office on the Capitol Campus during the 2026 session. Learn more about the OIC's legislative priorities.

The Legislature asked Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer and Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove to co-chair a work group to study and issue a report on wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards. The report, which includes recommendations about wildfire risk score transparency and a grant program to help residential properties resist wildfire loss, was delivered to the Legislature on December 1.

In this episode of the OIC Answers podcast, two of the architects of the report — OIC policy analyst Lauren Burnes and DNR advisor to the state forester Robyn Whitney — discuss what went into the report, what the recommendations mean, and what happens next.

A bomb cyclone hit the Pacific Northwest in November 2024,knocking out power and blowing trees onto homes. The windstruck had questions about their coverage and our Consumer Advocacy Program provided help. Now, as we near the one-year anniversary of the event, the OIC Answers podcast revisits some of those questions: What you can expect when filing a claim after wind damage, how roof repairs are covered, the difference between asking a question and filing a claim, and, for some reason, how tumbleweed damage is covered.

Open enrollment for the individual health insurance marketstarts November 1, and the federal government shutdown is bringing a little uncertainty to the shopping experience.

On this episode of the OIC Answers podcast, Washington Health Benefits Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulery joins Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer to talk about whether a podcast host really needs health insurance, what open enrollment is all about, and the benefits of shopping on healthplanfinder.org.

Then, the discussion turns to the enhanced premium tax credits, the debate on the national level around keeping them, what losing them means for the 300,000 Washingtonians who buy their plans on the Exchange, and what happens to rates and premiums if the tax credits are extended after the start of open enrollment.

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7 and people enrolled in Medicare can make changes to their coverage, like joining, switching or dropping Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, that’ll take effect on January 1.

On this episode of OIC Answers, the hosts welcome on SHIBA manager Tim Smolen to ask “What’s the deal with Medicare open enrollment?”

Get help with Medicare from the SHIBA Program.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is working with theDepartment of Ecology, the Department of Natural Resources and the state Military Department on Flood Awareness Fridays. On this episode of OIC Answers, the OIC’s David Forte and Aaron VanTuyl welcome on Amanda Richardson (Ecology) and Ann-Marie Marshall-Dody (Military) to talk about where to find and how to read flood maps and how to get flood insurance, which isn’t a peril covered under standard home insurance policies in Washington state.

Note: The National Flood Insurance Program is notwriting or renewing policies while the federal government is shut down. Our Oct. 1 blog post has more information.

The insurance industry is regulated at the state level, which puts insurance regulators in a unique position to impact policies that can address climate change. In this episode of OIC Answers Jordan Haedtler, a climate financial policy consultant with Climate Cabinet, explores those options with Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer — including what some states are doing, what’s working, the conversation at the summer NAIC conference, and why being a voice for the consumers matters in these discussions.

Check out Jordan’s work at climatecabineteducation.org.

Rep. David Hackney was elected in 2020 to represent Washington’s 11th legislative district. The former assistant U.S. attorney sits down with Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer on this episode of OIC Answers to talk about insurance, consumer protection, the restitution bill that didn’t make it out of the House Consumer Protection and Business committee (which Hackney co-chairs), and why you shouldn’t lie about what type of feathers are in your company’s pillows.