For Consumers

Agent and company lookup frequently asked questions

Agent and agencies

What's the difference between an agent and agency?

An agent is a person. An agency is a business.

What's does "Active" and "Inactive" statuses mean?

The tool's search results will display status descriptions as active or inactive.

  • Active: A active company, agent or broker is one who’s licensed and authorized to sell insurance in Washington state.

  • Inactive: This is when a company, agent or broker whose license expired or was revoked and is no longer authorized to sell insurance in Washington state. Note: A license will also display as inactive if it is within the 60-day late renewal period.

How do I find out if an agent or agency is licensed to sell insurance in Washington state?

You can find licensing information for an agent/agency under the "Licensing information" section on an agent or agency's profile page.

How do I find an agent who is authorized to sell insurance for a company?

Search for a company and select it from the search results. You can find agents and agencies authorized to sell insurance for a company under the section titled "Agents and agencies that represent this company (Appointments)."

How do I find out if an agent or agency has been investigated by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner?

You can find out if our office has investigated an agent or agency is the past three years under the "Investigations" section on the agent or agency profile page. 

How do I determine if my agent, agency or company has broken any state insurance laws.

Search for an agent, agency, or company and select from the search results. You can find out if an agent, agency, or company has broken any state insurance laws in the past two years in the "Orders" section of the profile pages. 

What if an agent or agency doesn’t have contact information on their profile page?

Unfortunately, not all agents and agencies give us their business address.

Companies

How do I determine if a company can sell insurance in Washington state?

You can find licensing information for a company under the "Types of coverage authorized to sell" section on the company's profile page.

How do I find out if a company has any consumer complaints?

You can find a link to complaints submitted to our office under the "Company complaint history" section on a company's profile.

General

How often is the information updated on the lookup tool?

The information is updated each night.

What are the recommended web browsers for using this tool?

We recommend using a recent version of the following:

  • Microsoft® Internet Explorer

  • Firefox

  • Chrome