March 23, 2021 – The Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has issued an emergency order temporarily prohibiting the use of credit history in determining premiums and eligibility for private automobile, homeowners, and renter's insurance policies. The commissioner has taken this step in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the financial effect it has had on consumers who may have lost income due to state mandated closings. The governor has issued several emergency proclamations restricting state agencies from charging late fees and penalties for a variety of debts.

The parameters of the CARES Act is such that the information credit bureaus are collecting is inaccurate for some consumers, and is therefore unreliable and a predictive tool for insurers. The commissioner finds that these protections have disrupted the credit reporting process, having negative consequences disproportionately for people of color. When the CARES Act expires a large volume of negative credit corrections will flood consumer's credit histories, and this factor has not been accounted for in current credit scoring models. This would make using existing models of credit scoring unfairly discriminatory under certain statutes.

The commissioner finds that economic impact of the pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color and that continued use of insurance credit scores results in excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory premiums as defined in RCW 48.19.020. Therefore, for all private passenger auto, renter's, and homeowner's policies issued in the state of Washington, insurers shall not use credit history to determine rates, premiums, or eligibility for coverage. Credit history may not be used to place coverage with a particular affiliated insurer or insurer within an overage group of affiliated companies.