The wildfires that have plagued Washington for nearly half of the summer have put new Insurance Commissioner Patty Kudler and her office to the test.
Kudler has been in office for more than a year and a half. However, she is relatively new, considering her predecessor, Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, is the nation’s longest-serving commissioner, having held the position since 2001.
The scale of the problem she and the Insurance Commissioner’s Office are dealing with is best illustrated by numbers: The blazes have caused some of the most expensive fire damage in Washington’s history, with Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis estimating the reconstruction costs from the three recent wildfires at more than $1 billion.
The industry projects insured losses from wildfires in the state so far at $600 million, with the majority coming from residential losses at about $535 million, according to OIC data on Tuesday.
While the numbers include all wildfires in the state, most of the damage is expected to come from the Spokane Complex Fire, which consists of the Old Trails, Fairview and Autumn Lane fires and has burned nearly 10,000 acres and destroyed about 900 structures. the latest one Analysis from real estate data provider Cotality 5,256 properties were identified that sustained at least some damage, 96% of which were single-family homes. The cost to rebuild damaged single-family homes totaled $1.9 billion.
RELATED: D.C. arson suspect sets fire on windy day
Kudler recently concluded an investigation into the damage and has spoken with fire-affected stakeholders and residents, including Spokane city officials, to look for ways to speed up the recovery process, which she believes means speeding up claims processing with the help of the rapid response team members her office has deployed.
So far, what she and her office have heard about the claims payment process has been largely positive. However, she said she would like to see more carriers help streamline the process for claimants by waiving the requirement to provide a complete list of losses.
“I just know from what I’ve heard on the ground, there are more compliments than nothing,” Kudler said. “But there have been some complaints, especially involving personal property and some companies that have asked for a full inventory.”
According to her, some insurance companies are more lenient with inventory requirements, with one insurance company voluntarily paying 65% of its limit without requiring inventory.
“I’m grateful,” she said. “I think other companies should follow suit and I’m considering whether I could write to them asking them to do so.”
Kudler believes she and her staff are prepared for the fires because of her experience in the state Legislature, where every year lawmakers heard “we’ve had the worst fire season, we’ve had the worst fire season.”
She came into office having learned the lesson that the state’s fires were getting worse.
“So when I came on board, it was clear to me that we needed to be prepared, so we created the Consumer Outreach and Disaster Response Team program, or the CODR program,” she said.
Her office launched a community outreach and disaster response program last year. It works to reduce the number of underinsured residents before emergencies occur and places experts in disaster recovery centers to support communities and assist residents with the claims process and understanding coverage. Her office also launched a community connection program, hosting public forums and town halls with Kudler to discuss local insurance rates, coverage and wildfire risks.
Another lesson she learned was resisting efforts to eliminate or exempt parts of building codes in order to rebuild more quickly after wildfires.
RELATED: Wildfires mean Portland surpasses Kinshasa as world’s worst air
“I think this is a mistake, and we discovered this while touring Lahaina and Palisades,” she said.
In the wake of two devastating fires, some stakeholders have pushed to streamline the construction process, including efforts to change building codes to speed up progress. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order allowing homeowners recovering from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires to use Less stringent building standardscausing some criticism.
Efforts to speed up reconstruction and clear the path for development continue in a state beset by housing shortages and affordability issues.
A California agency in late August approved long-delayed regulations aimed at protecting homes from wildfires, but they fall short of defenses recommended by scientists and firefighters.
Kudler believes there will be trouble insuring buildings and homes if they are not constructed to existing codes and high standards, a concern she hears all the time from insurance companies. This year’s Wells Road fire almost happened right here in Malden. The region was hit hard in 2020. Fortunately, only one home and a few buildings were damaged this year, but the fires nearly caused a repeat disaster in a community that is still recovering.
“I completely understand the desire to want to rebuild quickly, but I think we have to rebuild smart, and to me that means rebuilding back to IIBHS (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety standards),” she said. “I know in California, there’s a little bit of a debate about that right now. I don’t want that fight to happen here, I Hopefully we can get smarter about that because as we saw with the Malden fire in Washington, you’re never immune here. Tragedy can happen twice, and it does, so I’d rather we reduce the likelihood of that happening again, and we have the opportunity to do that in Spokane.”
Teams are scrutinizing damage from one of the three fires that make up the Spokane Complex Fire. Photography: Lauren Burnes, OIC.
theme
Washington lost profits
