About administrative hearings

If you or your business has been harmed by an order, decision, action or proposed action we made, you can request a hearing. 

We don't handle or hear cases about unemployment insurance or industrial insurance claims (also called workers’ compensation). 

In Washington state, the Employment Security Department handles unemployment benefits, and the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries handles workers’ compensation claims. 

Hearings process 

We hold and record all administrative hearings through Zoom or Microsoft Teams. To request an in-person hearing, the other party(s) needs to agree and you'll need to send a written request to our Presiding Officer, who will make the ultimate decision. Hearings are open to the public, so other people may watch yours. We post hearing notices at least seven days before the hearing.  

A presiding officer hears and decides challenges to the commissioner's actions and applications that require a hearing by law. The Presiding Officer is an attorney who knows the relevant laws, has no prior knowledge of the case, and follows strict rules to ensure the hearing is fair for everyone involved.

If we refer your case to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), an OAH Administrative Law Judge will handle your case. They'll schedule a prehearing conference, hold an evidentiary hearing, and make a decision called an initial order. Then, the Presiding Officer reviews the hearing file and initial order before making a final order. If you disagree with the final order, you can appeal it to the superior court.

Our Administrative Hearings unit follows these laws and rules:

  • RCW 48 is the State Insurance Code. 
  • RCW 48.04 is the part of the State Insurance Code that governs hearings and appeals.
  • WAC 284 contains rules for the insurance industry.  
  • RCW 34.05 is the State’s Administrative Procedure Act.  
  • WAC 10-08 contains procedures for administrative hearings.
  • RCW 42.56 is the Public Records Act, which governs how the Hearings unit discloses documents and provides exceptions to disclosure.
  • RCW 34.05.542 has information on filing a petition for review.

Market information reports

We collect this information from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) annually and compile it into a PDF report. 

2023 market information report

2022 market information report

2021 market information report

2020 market information report

2019 market information report

2018 market information report

How we can help you with your complaint

We're always available to help you better understand your insurance policy, your rights and other places you can go for help. We may not regulate all aspects of your concerns. Please contact us if you're unsure how we can help you. We'll walk you through it.

Our complaint process can help if you've been treated unfairly or unlawfully by an insurance company. If a company isn't responding, for example, we can help you communicate with them. We can review insurance policies issued or insurance business conducted in our state. Knowing the limits of the complaint process is important. 

What we can and can't do when you file a complaint
What we can do with your complaint What we can't do with your complaint
We can send your complaint to an insurance company and require an explanation We can't establish the facts of a claim, determine values or fault, cause of loss or the amount you should be paid for a claim
We can contact your health insurance company and require an explanation if it denied a treatment We can’t make medical judgments or determine if a treatment is necessary 
We can review a company's response to your complaint and make sure it followed the law and the policy We can't act as your lawyer, give you legal advice, act as your claims adjuster or make liability decisions
We can request that a company fix a problem if they didn't follow the law and the policy We can't make a company reinstate or reissue a policy, pay a claim or refund a premium if they followed the law and the policy
We can send your complaint to the Washington Healthplanfinder and ask them to review your concerns We can't require the Washington Healthplanfinder to comply with state insurance laws because they are not an insurance company or regulated by us
We can recommend other agencies or organizations that may be able to help with your complaint We can't address issues we can't legally enforce
We can send your surprise or balance billing complaint to medical providers and facilities in Washington We can't make medical providers and facilities adjust what they charge, respond to your complaint or comply with state insurance laws

Understanding the complaint process

The path of a complaint

When you submit a complaint to us, we generally follow this process.

We first determine if we're the right agency to handle it

The first stop for your complaint is a thorough review to make sure we're the right agency to help you. 

If your issue is something regulated by our agency, we'll prepare to send it to the insurance company for a response. If your issue is regulated by a different entity, we'll help you connect with an agency or an organization that can assist you.

Your insurance company has 15 business days to respond

Once the insurance company receives your complaint, its response is due in 15 business days.

We work with the company to address the issues we can resolve

When the company sends its response, we review it. We make sure your company is following state law and fair claims practices. If needed, we ask for any information we need to work on your complaint.

We contact you and share the results

After we get a response from the company, we'll share it with you and explain the company's answer. If there are unresolved issues that we can't help you with, we'll suggest some next steps. Some issues may require you to seek legal advice.

We add your complaint to the insurance company's record

Your complaint becomes part of the company's official record with our agency. Our regulators use complaint data to monitor for trends in unfair and unlawful practices to make sure companies follow the law. You can find historical complaint data for companies by searching our agent and company lookup tool.

Limitations of the complaint process

In some situations, the complaint process might not be the right approach to assist you. For example:

  • We don't regulate medical providers or facilities and can't make them adjust fees, follow laws or respond to us
  • We can't act as your lawyer, give you legal advice or interpret your policy language
  • We don't provide medical opinions or determine if a specific treatment is necessary
  • We can't make or change decisions about who is at fault in an accident
  • We don't determine how much a repair should cost or determine the value of your property

For a more comprehensive list, please review what we can and can't do to help. 

Complaint confidentiality statement

Your complaint and any submitted documents become public record and may be disclosed under state law.

State law protects certain personal information from public disclosure. This includes social security numbers, driver license numbers, financial account numbers and nonpublic personal health information. In most cases, home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and dates of birth are not protected from disclosure.

We will protect the information you give us to the full extent of the law. In some situations, other people may view your complaint and related documents. Please don't send us sensitive information that we don't need for your complaint. If we need more information from you, we'll ask for it.

Careers

Come work with us

View current job openings

A great place to work

The OIC values its employees and is committed to diversity in the workplace. We offer great benefits and challenge our staff to constantly improve the way we do business. Our office strives to exceed our customers' expectations. 

The OIC is a smaller state agency in the Washington state government. We are fortunate to have a stable funding source that does not rely on the state's general fund. Therefore, we have not had cycles of employee layoffs when budgets are tight.

Washington has it all

Why work here?

  • Washington is one of the Top 10 best state governments for employees.
  • Every day, OIC employees make a difference in the lives of Washington residents. We care about our customers and each other.
  • We encourage professional growth and development, including opportunities for tuition reimbursement and internal and external training.
  • Our generous compensation package includes paid holidays, sick leave, vacation, retirement savings options and employer-paid insurance.

You can change lives

If you would like to hear why employees want to work at the OIC, view our video.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) is directed by the Washington state insurance commissioner. The OIC's mission is to protect consumers and oversee the insurance industry. Learn more about what we do at the OIC.

Accessibility

Please contact the recruiter listed in the job announcement if you need it in a different format. Contact our staff to make an accessibility request if you need specific accommodations at any time during the application process. 

If you are deaf or have trouble hearing, you may call through the Washington relay service by dialing 7-1-1.

Subscribe to Consumers