The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) conducts financial examinations to protect consumers by confirming producers are complying with the law. We may also examine your records in response to a consumer complaint.
RCW 48.03.020 (leg.wa.gov) grants the authority to examine your records.
RCW 48.03.030 (leg.wa.gov) requires you to produce your records and facilitate the examination.
About examinations
An examination is a review of your fiduciary responsibility for the handling of premium funds and accounting RECORDS for those funds. Examinations are conducted to determine compliance with the following laws and regulations:
RCW 48.17.250 (leg.wa.gov) Insurance producer’s bond,
RCW 48.17.270 (leg.wa.gov) Compensation disclosure for insurance producers,
RCW 48.17.470 (leg.wa.gov) Records of insurance producers,
RCW 48.17.480 (leg.wa.gov) Reporting and accounting for premiums,
RCW 48.17.600 (leg.wa.gov) Separation of premium funds,
RCW 48.18.220 (leg.wa.gov) Receipt of premium to bind coverage—Contents of receipt,
WAC 284-12-080 (leg.wa.gov) Requirement for separate accounts, and
WAC 284-30-550 (leg.wa.gov) Receipts to be given
If you are a surplus line licensee, the examination often confirms certification forms are appropriately filed and taxes are paid, as required by RCW 48.15 (leg.wa.gov).
Examination Process
Our examiner will notify you of the examination by email and request documents and records. The examiner will follow-up with a call to discuss the examination process.
The financial examination primarily focuses on the accounting records maintained for the separate premium account and the premium detail provided by the insured. The examiner evaluates the licensee's policies and practices to process and return premium, as well as the existence of adequate accounting records that provide an audit trail.
After the Examination
At the completion of the examination, you will receive an examination report by email. If there are no findings, the examination is closed, and the examination process is complete. If there are areas of non-compliance, a follow-up examination will be scheduled to confirm you made the changes have been made to follow the law and regulations.
In rare circumstances, there could be a referral for administrative action. We will notify you if this occurs.