Wash. Commissioner Unveils New Agent, Broker Info Site; Some 85,000 Licensing Details Available

Licensing details of the 85,000 insurance agents and brokers doing business in Washington State are available for the first time on-line. A new Web page created by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner provides details on individual and business affiliated agents, brokers, general agents and adjusters.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said he is very proud the new Web site, a major achievement in the OIC’s business plan.

“We now offer the most up-to-date information, 24 hours a day, on the license status of insurance agents and brokers in Washington state,” Kreidler said. “We expect this will cut in half the 6,000 phone calls a month to our licensing program. It also speeds up the availability of the information.”

Agents in Washington State must be licensed and appointed by an insurer prior to representing the insurer in an insurance transaction. Before the development of the new on-line system, agents, brokers and insurance companies had to call the OIC to confirm license and appointment status or wait three or four days to receive the information in the mail.

In the first week of its debut, the new Agent and Broker Information Web Site reportedly generated more than 24,000 hits.

Visit the Office of Insurance Commissioner Web site at www.insurance.wa.gov or go directly to the new Agent and Broker Information Web Site at https://fortress.wa.gov/oic/laa/LAAMain.aspx.