Washington Insurance Fraud Modernization Bill Passes Senate
Summary
Washington's Senate unanimously passed SB 6031, a bill to modernize insurance fraud laws. The bill defines insurance fraud as a Class B felony and expands reporting requirements. It now moves to the House of Representatives.
What changed
Washington State Senate Bill 6031, championed by Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer, has passed the Senate with a unanimous vote. The bill aims to modernize the state's approach to combating insurance fraud by defining it as a distinct Class B felony offense. Key provisions include criminalizing actions such as billing for services not rendered, impersonation in claims, and theft of premium payments. The legislation also broadens the definition of "victims of insurance fraud" to include consumers and beneficiaries, making them eligible for restitution, and mandates reporting of suspected fraud by additional regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies.
While this bill has passed the Senate, it requires consideration by the House of Representatives before becoming law. If enacted, it will provide the Criminal Investigations Unit with updated tools to address sophisticated fraud schemes, moving beyond simpler scams. Regulated entities and related agencies should monitor the bill's progress through the House. The bill's passage signifies a move towards stricter accountability for egregious insurance fraud, with potential implications for how fraud investigations and prosecutions are handled in Washington.
What to do next
- Monitor the progress of SB 6031 through the Washington House of Representatives.
- Review updated definitions and reporting requirements for insurance fraud if the bill is enacted.
Penalties
Class B felony
Source document (simplified)
Insurance fraud modernization bill passes state Senate
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February 17, 2026
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer’s bill to modernize how her office combats insurance fraud passed the state Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 17, by a unanimous **** vote of 49-0.
Senate Bill 6031 defines insurance fraud as its own crime — a Class B felony — in state law. The definition includes billing an insurance company or consumer for services not provided, impersonating others in insurance-related claims or transactions, and stealing insurance premium payments or premium financing loans.
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) was established by state law in 2006, but that law hasn’t been updated since then.
SB 6031, Kuderer said, gives the CIU modern tools to investigate modern fraud.
“Defining the most serious acts that defraud insurance companies and consumers as the crime of insurance fraud helps us hold the most egregious actors accountable,” she said. “This approach shifts CIU’s focus away from simple scams — like crashing a car and then buying a policy — to more complicated schemes, like exploiting loopholes to steal large amounts of money in smaller denominations to avoid prosecution.”
Insurance fraud costs insurance companies $300 billion a year, which is passed along to consumers in the form of higher premiums.
The bill expands “victims of insurance fraud” to include insurance consumers and insurance beneficiaries, making them eligible for criminal restitution. It would also expand statutory reporting of suspected insurance fraud to the insurance commissioner by adding regulators of health care or financial services professions, and other law enforcement and public safety agencies as required reporters.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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