Washington Commissioner of Insurance

Washington Commissioner of Insurance
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$137,700
2024-2025 FY Budget:	$88,149,000
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Washington Code - 48.02.010
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Mike Kreidler
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Washington Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education• • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner• Labor Commissioner• Public Service Commissioner

The Washington Commissioner of Insurance is an elected state executive position in the Washington state government. The commissioner is responsible for overseeing the state insurance industry.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Mike Kreidler (D). He has served in this position since 2001.

Authority

The office of insurance commissioner is established in the Washington Code.

Washington Code - 48.02.010:

There shall be an insurance commissioner of this state who shall be elected at the time and in the manner that other state officers are elected.

Qualifications

Article 3, Section 25 of the state Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

• a citizen of the United States
• a qualified elector in Washington

Qualifications, Compensation, Offices Which May Be Abolished. No person, except a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of this state, shall be eligible to hold any state office...

Elections

Washington state government organizational chart

In Washington, the insurance commissioner is elected every four years. Elections are held in November and winners assume office the following January, serving until their successor is elected and qualified.

Washington elects insurance commissioners in presidential election years (2020, 2024, 2028, 2032).

2024

See also: Washington Insurance Commissioner election, 2024

General election candidates

• Patricia Kuderer  (Democratic Party) ✔
• Phil Fortunato  (Republican Party)

Primary candidates

• Bill Boyd  (Democratic Party)
• Chris Chung  (Democratic Party)
• Phil Fortunato  (Republican Party) ✔
• Jonathan Hendrix  (No party preference) 
• Patricia Kuderer  (Democratic Party) ✔
• Justin Murta  (Republican Party)
• John Pestinger  (Democratic Party) 
• Tim Verzal  (No party preference)

Did not make the ballot:

• Khristopher Greene

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2020

See also: Washington Insurance Commissioner election, 2020

General election candidates

• Mike Kreidler  (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
• Chirayu Avinash Patel  (Republican Party) 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Primary candidates

• Mike Kreidler  (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
• Chirayu Avinash Patel  (Republican Party) ✔ 
• Anthony Welti  (Libertarian Party) 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

2016

See also: Washington Insurance Commissioner election, 2016

The general election for insurance commissioner was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Mike Kreidler defeated Richard Schrock in the Washington insurance commissioner election.

Washington Insurance Commissioner, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mike Kreidler Incumbent	58.34%	1,763,134
	Republican	Richard Schrock	41.66%	1,258,827
Total Votes				3,021,961
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Washington Commissioner of Insurance, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Washington down ballot state executive elections, 2012 Incumbent Mike Kreidler won re-election on November 6, 2012. Washington Commissioner of Insurance General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike Kreidler Incumbent 58.3% 1,662,555      Republican John Adams 41.7% 1,188,926 Total Votes 2,851,481 Election results via Washington Secretary of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, Mike Kreidler won re-election to the office of Washington Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated John Adams (R) in the general election. Washington Commissioner of Insurance, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike Kreidler Incumbent 61.4% 1,679,696      Republican John Adams 38.6% 1,056,693 Total Votes 2,736,389 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Mike Kreidler won re-election to the office of Washington Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated John Adams (R) and Stephen D. Steele (L) in the general election. Washington Commissioner of Insurance, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike Kreidler Incumbent 54.5% 1,393,764      Republican John Adams 41.4% 1,058,583      Libertarian Stephen D. Steele 4.2% 107,295 Total Votes 2,559,642 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Mike Kreidler won election to the office of Washington Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated Don Davidson (R) and Mike Hihn (L) in the general election. Washington Commissioner of Insurance, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike Kreidler 53.4% 1,174,039      Republican Don Davidson 42.4% 933,568      Libertarian Mike Hihn 4.2% 92,185 Total Votes 2,199,792 Election results via Washington Secretary of State.

Vacancies

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches the constitutional or statutory text that details the process of filling vacancies for a state executive office. That information for the Washington Commissioner of Insurance has not yet been added. After extensive research, we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Duties

As of January 2021, the stated duties of the commissioner were:

“

The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner protects insurance consumers and oversees the insurance industry. We make sure insurance companies follow the rules and people get the coverage they've paid for. Each year, we answer questions and investigate problems for nearly 100,000 people. Additionally, we maintain a statewide network of volunteers who advise consumers on health-coverage issues.

”

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Washington Commissioner of Insurance has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

See also: Washington state budget and finances

The budget for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 was $88,149,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $137,700, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the commissioner received a salary of $138,375, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $133,250 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $126,555 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $125,302 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $124,061 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $121,628 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the insurance commissioner received a salary of $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the commissioner was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the commissioner was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

In 2012, the commissioner was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Washington Commissioner of Insurance has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Washington State Insurance Commissioner. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Washington Commissioner of Insurance - Google News

Contact information

Office of the Washington Insurance Commissioner
Mailing address
P.O. Box 40255
Olympia, WA 98504-0255

Street Address
302 Sid Snyder Ave., SW, Suite 200
Olympia, WA 98504-0255

Phone: (800) 562-6900

External links

Suggest a link

• Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner