Washington insurance law is in Title 48 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), with rules in Title 284 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). Auto financial responsibility is in Title 46 RCW and workers compensation (industrial insurance) in Title 51 RCW. This guide covers the Washington rules on the regulator, producer licensing, appointments, CE, inducements, fiduciary funds, unfair practices, cancellation basics and the guaranty associations. The general concepts are in the national Insurance Regulation guide.

About the exam

Washington's exams are given by PSI. The content outlines in use took effect April 1, 2026. Washington sells all seven resident exams:

• The exam tests the lines of authority, a producer's duties and Washington insurance law (RCW 48.17.110(1)).
• No prelicensing course has been required since July 23, 2023. Older PSI bulletins still mention one.
• After passing, the application, fees, fingerprints and any conviction documents must be in within 180 days, or the exam must be retaken (PSI bulletin, 2026).
• Resident applicants submit fingerprints for a Washington State Patrol and FBI background check (RCW 48.17.090(1)). Individual nonresidents don't.
• In Washington the accident and health line is called disability. Health, disability and accident and sickness mean the same thing (RCW 48.17.170(1)(b)).

The regulator

• The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) administers Title 48.

• The Insurance Commissioner is elected statewide for a four-year term beginning in January after the election (RCW 48.02.010, .020). Most states appoint theirs.

• The Commissioner may adopt rules on any part of the code except the Commissioner's own election, qualifications and pay (RCW 48.02.060(3)(a)).

• Emergency orders (RCW 48.02.060(4)-(5)) can address:

  • claim reporting
  • premium grace periods
  • postponing cancellations
  • access to medical care

  An emergency order lasts up to 60 days and may be extended once by up to 30 days.

• For a violation, the Commissioner may issue a cease and desist order or seek an injunction. Criminal violations are certified to the local prosecutor (RCW 48.02.080).

• Each authorized insurer is examined at least every five years. Producers, brokers and adjusters may be examined as often as the Commissioner thinks advisable (RCW 48.03.010, .020).

• SHIBA (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors) is the OIC's volunteer Medicare counseling program (WAC 284-02-010).

• An insurer needs a certificate of authority (RCW 48.05.030). The certificate names the kinds of insurance the insurer may write.

• Insurers are domestic (formed in Washington), foreign (another state) or alien (another country) (RCW 48.05.010).

• Forms are filed at least 30 days before use and are deemed approved if not acted on. The Commissioner may extend that by up to 15 days (RCW 48.18.100(3)).

Producer licensing (chapter 48.17 RCW)

License required. Selling, soliciting or negotiating without a license for that line is a class B felony, plus a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation (RCW 48.17.060, .063).

Definitions (RCW 48.17.010):

• Solicit means attempting to sell, or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular insurer.
• Negotiate means conferring with or advising a purchaser about a contract's benefits, terms or conditions.
• A license gives no authority to bind an insurer. That comes from the appointment.

Lines of authority (RCW 48.17.170):

• life, including annuities
• disability
• property
• casualty
• variable life and variable annuity, which also needs a securities salesperson license (WAC 284-17-015)
• personal lines

Applicants (RCW 48.17.090):

• at least 18 years old
• fees paid and exams passed
• no acts that are grounds for denial
• A business entity designates a designated responsible licensed producer (DRLP) with real authority over its compliance (WAC 284-17-603).

Not required to be licensed (RCW 48.17.062):

• employees doing executive, administrative or clerical work, or inspection and rating, who receive no commission
• a nonresident selling commercial P&C to a multistate insured headquartered in the producer's home state

Nonresidents and movers:

• Nonresidents are licensed on reciprocity and home-state good standing (RCW 48.17.173). They are exempt from Washington CE if they meet their home state's.
• A nonresident license appoints the Commissioner to receive service of process.
• A producer moving to Washington applies within 90 days, with no exam for lines already held (RCW 48.17.175(2)).
• A resident moving away reports within 30 days with certification from the new state.

Temporary licenses (RCW 48.17.510) last up to 180 days without an exam. They can go to:

• the spouse or representative of a producer who dies or becomes disabled
• an entity employee when its designee dies or becomes disabled
• the designee of a producer entering military service

The Commissioner may require a sponsor.

Other licensing rules:

• A producer registers an assumed name and notifies the Commissioner before using it (RCW 48.17.180).
• A license must be displayed at the place of business (RCW 48.17.460).
• P&C licensees keep a Washington place of business open to the public. Life- and disability-only producers are exempt (RCW 48.17.450).
• A producer acting as a broker files a bond of the greater of $2,500 or 5% of premiums brokered the previous year, capped at $100,000 (RCW 48.17.250).
• Selling federal flood policies requires a one-time course of at least 3 hours (RCW 48.17.153).

License term, renewal and CE

• A first license runs to the end of the licensee's birth month of the following year. After that it renews every two years (WAC 284-17-423).
• Late renewal surcharge (WAC 284-17-490):
  • 50% in the first 30 days late
  • 100% for days 31 to 60
  • 200% from day 61 to 12 months
• No business may be done until the late renewal is complete. After 12 months the licensee must retest.
• CE (WAC 284-17-224):
  • 24 hours every two years, including 3 hours of ethics
  • no carry-over of extra hours
  • certificates kept 3 years
  • providers issue certificates within 10 days
  • any approved course counts, whatever the licensee's lines
• Annuities: a one-time 4-credit annuity training course is required before selling annuities (WAC 284-17-265).
• Long-term care: an 8-hour course before selling, then 4 hours every 24 months (RCW 48.83.130).

Reporting duties

• Address change, including email: within 30 days (WAC 284-17-005).
• Administrative action elsewhere: within 30 days of final disposition (RCW 48.17.597).
• Criminal prosecution: within 30 days of the initial pretrial hearing.
• Licensee's response to an OIC inquiry: received within 15 business days (RCW 48.17.475).
• Data breach of a client's personal or health information: the OIC says to notify it in writing within two business days after informing the client.

Appointments and terminations

• An insurer files the appointment within 15 days after the agency contract or first application, whichever is earlier. The OIC verifies eligibility within 30 days (RCW 48.17.160).
• Appointments are continuous. They have no annual renewal (WAC 284-17-429).
• A producer affiliated with an appointed business entity needs no direct appointment (WAC 284-17-476).
• Termination: the insurer notifies the Commissioner within 30 days, for cause or not, and sends the producer a copy within 15 days. The producer may file comments within 30 days (RCW 48.17.595).
• Ending an independent agency contract (RCW 48.17.591):
  • The insurer gives at least 120 days' notice.
  • It renews the agent's book for one year at the same commission.
  • It may not cancel or nonrenew policies because the agency contract ended.
  • This doesn't apply to life, disability, surety, ocean marine or title.

Commissions, fees and inducements

• No commission to an unlicensed person. Renewal commissions may go to someone licensed at the time of sale (RCW 48.17.490).
• Fees (RCW 48.17.270):
  • A producer charging a fee gives a written disclosure before the sale showing the fee, any commission and the insurer.
  • The disclosure is signed by both and kept 5 years.
  • Charging a fee without advance written notice is an unfair practice (WAC 284-30-750).
• Rebating is prohibited (RCW 48.30.140), with these exceptions:
  • Promotional gifts up to $100 per person in any 12 months, offered to everyone in similar circumstances (RCW 48.30.150(1)(c)).
  • Referral gifts up to $100 per person in 12 months. They can't depend on a purchase and can't be cash (RCW 48.30.133).
  • Drawings and games with prizes of $100 or less, open to the public with no purchase required (WAC 284-17-835).
• An insured who accepts a rebate also violates the law (RCW 48.30.170). For P&C, the coverage is reduced in proportion, and the insured may be fined up to $200.
• Insurance may not be offered as an inducement to buy goods or services, except group or blanket coverage (RCW 48.30.155).
• Washington has no controlled-business limit.

Fiduciary funds and records

• Premiums are held in a fiduciary capacity (RCW 48.17.480). Diverting them is theft.
• Premiums go in a separate account apart from business and personal funds (RCW 48.17.600). The account must be federally insured.
• The producer may add money to cover advances, return premium reserves and similar needs. Depositing commission income into the premium account is commingling.
• Interest belongs to the producer unless an agreement says otherwise (WAC 284-12-080(7)).
• Records are kept 5 years. This rule doesn't apply to life or disability (RCW 48.17.470).
• A producer gives a signed receipt for cash premiums, generally by the next business day (WAC 284-30-550).
• The producer physically delivers policies and doesn't hold them for "safekeeping" (WAC 284-30-580).
• A binder lasts until the policy issues or 90 days, whichever is shorter (RCW 48.18.230).

Unfair practices and fraud (chapter 48.30 RCW)

• Misrepresentation:
  • false or misleading advertising (.040)
  • misleading policy names (.090)
  • twisting, meaning inducing a lapse, surrender or retention by misrepresentation (.180)
• Defamation of an insurer (.080).
• Every ad shows the insurer's full name and home office (.050).
• Discrimination: no refusal, cancellation or nonrenewal because of sex, marital status, sexual orientation or disability (.300).
• False statements on an application are a gross misdemeanor (.210).
• A false claim is a gross misdemeanor, or a class C felony over $1,500 (.230).
• Health care false claims are a class C felony (RCW 48.80.030).
• A repair shop or other service provider that routinely waives deductibles is trafficking in claims (RCW 48.30A.015).
• Insurance Fair Conduct Act (RCW 48.30.015): a first-party claimant unreasonably denied coverage may get up to triple damages. Notice goes to the insurer and the OIC 20 days before suing.
• Claims rules (WAC 284-30-330 to -380) were amended effective October 18, 2026 (WSR 26-17-089):

• Notice to the insurer's agent counts as notice to the insurer.
• A denial is in writing and cites the specific policy provision.
• Before a time limit runs out, an unrepresented claimant gets 30 days' written warning (first party) or 60 days' (third party).

Penalties

• Producer fines are up to $1,000 per offense, and unpaid fines lead to revocation (RCW 48.17.560).
• Suspension is for a stated period of no more than 12 months (RCW 48.17.550).
• An order generally takes effect at least 15 days after service. An emergency temporary suspension takes 3 days (RCW 48.17.540).
• A license is suspended for unpaid child support (RCW 48.17.535).
• Grounds for discipline include:
  • forging a name
  • borrowing from a client who isn't a financial institution or relative
  • using notes during the exam

Guaranty associations

• Washington Life and Disability Insurance Guaranty Association (chapter 48.32A RCW):

  • $500,000 life death benefit
  • $500,000 cash value
  • $500,000 annuities
  • $500,000 health benefit plans, disability income and LTC
  • $500,000 aggregate per life
  • $5,000,000 for one owner of several policies

  Its existence may not be used in selling.

• Washington Insurance Guaranty Association (chapter 48.32 RCW). It pays P&C claims over $100 and under $300,000. It has automobile, longshore and harbor workers' compensation, and "all other" accounts. It doesn't cover workers compensation (except longshore), surety, title, credit, mortgage guaranty or ocean marine.

• Surplus lines insureds aren't protected. Surplus lines is placed through a licensed surplus line broker only if a majority of authorized insurers decline after diligent effort, and never just for a lower rate (RCW 48.15.040).

Common exam traps

• The Commissioner is elected, for four years.
• No prelicensing education since July 23, 2023. Apply within 180 days of passing.
• CE is 24 hours with 3 ethics, and extra hours don't carry over.
• Gifts, referral gifts and prizes are capped at $100 per person per 12 months. Referral gifts can't be cash.
• Washington has no controlled-business rule.
• Appointments are filed in 15 days, terminations reported in 30. Appointments don't expire yearly.
• A false claim over $1,500 is a felony.
• Producer fines are $1,000 per offense, but unlicensed activity can bring $25,000 and a felony.
• P&C guaranty coverage runs from $100 to $300,000. Life and disability coverage is $500,000.