The Washington state Legislature has asked the Insurance Commissioner to convene a working group to look at the difficulties Adult Family Home operators are facing finding affordable insurance. The working group will:
- Review the availability and cost of liability insurance for adult family homes;
- Identify obstacles to adult family homes access to liability insurance including underwriting restrictions, market conditions, as well as legal and regulatory requirements;
- Evaluate the financial risk to adult family homes, their residents, the state Medicaid program, and others that exist as a result of the increased cost of insurance, or in the event adult family homes are uninsured due to a lack of access to coverage; and
- Make policy recommendations to improve access to liability insurance coverage for adult family homes.
- A preliminary report is due by December 31, 2024, and a final report due by June 30, 2025.
Work group preliminary report
Work group meeting agenda, materials, and recordings
- There are no meetings currently scheduled. Please check back for updates on future meetings.
Aug. 28, Sept. 25, and Oct. 23 meetings
The August, September, and October work group meetings are canceled to allow for 1:1 interviews and data collection.
July 24 meeting
June 26 meeting
Work group members
| Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Bryon Welch | Office of the Insurance Commissioner |
| Amber Leaders | Office of the Governor |
| Kelly Richburg | Office of the Attorney General |
| Cathy Kinnamon | DSHS ALTSA - Home and Community Services |
| Colleen Jensen | DSHS ALTSA - Residential Care Services |
| Saif Hakim | DSHS Developmental Disabilities Administration |
| Joy Erven | Surplus Line Association of Washington |
| John Ficker | Adult Family Home Council |
| Amina Abdalla | Adult Family Home Council |
| Rebecca Thompson | Fortiphi Insurance |
| Raelena Marsh | Cochrane and Company |
| Sherri Sheidler | MiniCo Insurance Agency |
| Katie Baierlein | MiniCo Insurance Agency |
| Vince Terlaje | MiniCo Insurance Agency |
| Amy Freeman | Washington State long-term care ombudsman |