News Archive

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler fined three Washington state health insurers for violating insurance laws and rules. 

Kreidler fined UnitedHealthcare of Washington, Inc., $5,000 for not using its correct, legal name 297 times in 2018 on checks and on correspondence with policyholders and medical providers. It used three incorrect names: UnitedHealthcare of Washington, UnitedHealthCare Insurance Company and UnitedHealthcare Services, Inc. State law requires insurers to use their legal name as a transparency measure for consumers …

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Dale Maki, of Usk, Wash., was charged in Pend Oreille Superior Court with one count of false claims or proof in connection with an auto claim after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).

According to the investigation, Maki bought a 2000 GMC Sierra pickup truck for $3,000 from a private party on Aug. 13, 2018. He added it to his Farmers Insurance auto policy that day. Two days later, he filed a claim for $3,338 in damage to the passenger side rear wheel panel and bumper. He stated the truck was stolen from his…

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Rebecca Tabares Garza, of Yakima, pleaded guilty in Yakima County Superior Court to first-degree theft and filing a false insurance claim for 27 injuries she said occurred to herself and her family. Garza was sentenced to two months of home detention, six months of community custody and was ordered to pay $5,175 in restitution and $600 in court fees.

Officials charged Garza with three counts each of filing a false insurance claim, forgery and second-degree theft in March 2019 after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations…

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has instructed health insurers to continue following state law by sending consumers a single bill for their monthly premium. They also should continue segregating the portion of the premium they collect to pay for abortion services excluded by federal law, as required by the Affordable Care Act. 

Kreidler’s instructions are in response to questions insurers have raised about a new federal rule that would require health insurers selling plans in exchanges to send consumers two bills each month – one for…