Title 48, INSURANCE

If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected. [ 1993 c 462 s 112.]

The insurance commissioner may take such steps as are necessary to ensure that this act is implemented on July 25, 1993. [ 1993 c 462 s 106.]

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a mechanism for the payment of covered claims to avoid excessive delay in payment and to avoid financial loss to claimants or policyholders under certain policies of insurance covered by the scope of this chapter because of the insolvency…

This chapter applies to all kinds of direct insurance, except life, title, surety, disability, credit, mortgage guaranty, workers' compensation, and ocean marine. Workers' compensation as used in this section does not include longshore and harbor workers' compensation act insuran…

As used in this chapter: (1) "Account" means one of the three accounts created in RCW 48.32.040. (2) "Association" means the Washington insurance guaranty association created in RCW 48.32.040. (3) "Commissioner" means the insurance commissioner of this state. (4) "Covered claim" …

There is hereby created a nonprofit unincorporated legal entity to be known as the Washington insurance guaranty association. All insurers defined as member insurers in RCW 48.32.030 shall be and remain members of the association as a condition of their authority to transact insu…

(1) The board of directors of the association shall consist of not less than five nor more than nine persons serving terms as established in the plan of operation. The members of the board shall be selected by member insurers subject to the approval of the commissioner. Vacancies…

(1) The association shall: (a)(i) For other than covered claims involving the longshore and harbor workers' compensation act, be obligated to the extent of the covered claims existing prior to the order of liquidation and arising within thirty days after the order of liquidation,…

(1)(a) The association shall submit to the commissioner a plan of operation and any amendments thereto necessary or suitable to assure the fair, reasonable, and equitable administration of the association. The plan of operation and any amendments thereto shall become effective up…

(1) The commissioner shall: (a) Notify the association promptly whenever he or she or any of his or her examiners has, or comes into, possession of any data or information relative to any insurer under his or her jurisdiction for any purpose indicating that such insurer is in or …

(1) Any person recovering under this chapter shall be deemed to have assigned his or her rights under the policy to the association to the extent of his or her recovery from the association. Every insured or claimant seeking the protection of this chapter shall cooperate with the…

(1) Any person having a claim against his or her insurer under any provision in his or her insurance policy which is also a covered claim shall be required to exhaust first any right under that policy. Any amount payable on a covered claim under this chapter shall be reduced by t…

To aid in the detection and prevention of insurer insolvencies: (1) It shall be the duty of the board of directors, upon majority vote, to notify the commissioner of any information indicating any member insurer may be insolvent or in a financial condition hazardous to the policy…

The association shall be subject to examination and regulation by the commissioner. The board of directors shall submit, not later than March 30th of each year, a financial report for the preceding calendar year in a form approved by the commissioner. [ 1971 ex.s. c 265 s 12.]

The association shall be exempt from payment of all fees and all taxes levied by this state or any of its subdivisions except taxes levied on real or personal property. [ 1971 ex.s. c 265 s 13.]

Every member insurer that prior to April 1, 1993, or after July 27, 1997, shall have paid one or more assessments levied pursuant to RCW 48.32.060(1)(c) shall be entitled to take a credit against any premium tax falling due under RCW 48.14.020. The amount of the credit shall be o…

There shall be no liability on the part of and no cause of action of any nature shall arise against any member insurer, the association or its agents or employees, the board of directors, or the commissioner or his or her representatives for any action taken by them in the perfor…

All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party in any court in this state shall be stayed for one hundred eighty days and such additional time thereafter as may be fixed by the court from the date the insolvency is determined to permit…

(1) The commissioner shall by order terminate the operation of the Washington insurers insolvency pool as to any kind of insurance afforded by property or casualty insurance policies with respect to which he or she has found, after hearing, that there is in effect a statutory or …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Washington Insurance Guaranty Association Act. [ 1971 ex.s. c 265 s 18.]

This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [April 20, 2005]. [ 2005 c 100 s 8.]

This chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the purpose under RCW 48.32.010 which shall constitute an aid and guide to interpretation. [ 1971 ex.s. c 265 s 19.]

Section headings as used in this chapter do not constitute any part of the law. [ 1971 ex.s. c 265 s 22.]

This chapter may be known and cited as the Washington life and disability insurance guaranty association act. [ 2001 c 50 s 1.]

(1) The purpose of this chapter is to protect, subject to certain limitations, the persons specified in RCW 48.32A.025(1) against failure in the performance of contractual obligations, under life insurance, disability insurance, health benefit plans, and certificates of coverage,…

(1) This chapter provides coverage for the policies and contracts specified in subsection (2) of this section as follows: (a) To persons who, regardless of where they reside, except for nonresident certificate holders or enrollees under group policies or contracts, are the benefi…

This chapter shall be construed to effect the purpose under RCW 48.32A.015. [ 2001 c 50 s 4.]

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Account" means either of the two accounts created under RCW 48.32A.055. (2) "Association" means the Washington life and disability insurance guaranty association crea…

(1) There is created a nonprofit unincorporated legal entity to be known as the Washington life and disability insurance guaranty association which is composed of the commissioner ex officio and each member insurer. All member insurers must be and remain members of the associatio…

(1) The board of directors of the association consists of the commissioner ex officio and not less than seven nor more than 11 member insurers serving terms as established in the plan of operation. The insurer members of the board are selected by member insurers subject to the ap…

(1) If a member insurer is an impaired insurer, the association may, in its discretion, and subject to any conditions imposed by the association that do not impair the contractual obligations of the impaired insurer and that are approved by the commissioner: (a) Guarantee, assume…

(1) For the purpose of providing the funds necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the association, the board of directors shall assess the member insurers, separately for each account, at such time and for such amounts as the board finds necessary. Assessments are due no…

(1)(a) The association shall submit to the commissioner a plan of operation and any amendments necessary or suitable to assure the fair, reasonable, and equitable administration of the association. The plan of operation and any amendments are effective upon the commissioner's wri…

(1) In addition to the duties and powers enumerated elsewhere in this chapter, the commissioner shall: (a) Upon request of the board of directors, provide the association with a statement of the premiums in this and other appropriate states for each member insurer; (b) When an im…

The commissioner shall aid in the detection and prevention of member insurer insolvencies or impairments. (1) It is the duty of the commissioner to: (a) Notify the commissioners of all the other states, territories of the United States, and the District of Columbia within thirty …

(1) A member insurer may offset against its premium tax liability to this state an assessment described in RCW 48.32A.085(8) to the extent of twenty percent of the amount of the assessment for each of the five calendar years following the year in which the assessment was paid. In…

(1) This chapter does not reduce the liability for unpaid assessments of the insureds of an impaired or insolvent insurer operating under a plan with assessment liability. (2) Records must be kept of all meetings of the board of directors to discuss the activities of the associat…

The association is subject to examination and regulation by the commissioner. The board of directors shall submit to the commissioner each year, not later than one hundred eighty days after the association's fiscal year, a financial report in a form approved by the commissioner a…

The association is exempt from payment of all fees and all taxes levied by this state or any of its subdivisions, except taxes levied on real property. [ 2001 c 50 s 16.]

There is no liability on the part of and no cause of action of any nature may arise against any member insurer or its agents or employees, the association or its agents or employees, members of the board of directors, or the commissioner or the commissioner's representatives, for…

All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party in any court in this state are stayed one hundred eighty days from the date an order of liquidation, rehabilitation, or conservation is final to permit proper legal action by the association on any matters germane to its p…

(1) No person, including a member insurer, agent, or affiliate of a member insurer may make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, or cause directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in any newspape…

(1) This chapter does not apply to any impaired insurer that was under an order of rehabilitation or conservation, or to any insolvent insurer that was placed under an order of liquidation, prior to July 22, 2001. (2) Any section repealed in this act pertaining to the powers and …

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public welfare by regulating credit life insurance and credit accident and health insurance. Nothing in this chapter is intended to prohibit or discourage reasonable competition. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally const…

(1) This chapter is a part of the insurance code. (2) All life insurance and all accident and health insurance in connection with loans or other credit transactions shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter, except such insurance under an individual policy in connection …

For the purpose of this chapter: (1) "Credit life insurance" means insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction; (2) "Credit accident and health insurance" means insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for paym…