Spokane’s devastating wildfires have destroyed almost a thousand homes and displaced over 64,000 residents. The Washington State Insurance Commissioner is offering several avenues for assistance for folks who have been impacted. The Commissioner has additional powers to help victims following Governor Ferguson’s declared state of emergency on August 1.
First, OIC is hosting a monthly insurance claims workshop for survivors. The workshop is in person in Spokane and are also recorded for later viewing.
Second, OIC ordered insurers to allow affected residents additional grace periods to pay their premiums before canceling coverage.
Third, OIC directed that health insurance carriers allow survivors streamlined prescription medication refills.
OIC had additional efforts to help wildfire victims in the works before the Spokane fire. This includes proposed legislation that would require transparency when insurers charge consumers more based on wildfire risk. Other proposed legislation would protect consumers from having their policies canceled for wildfire risk if they make certain retrofits that harden their homes against fires.
Seattle Insurance and ERISA Blog 