48.37.110 - Fines and penalties. - Washington Statutes

Fines and penalties.

(1) Fines and penalties, applicable to the insurer as found in the Washington insurance code, levied as a result of a market conduct action or examination shall be consistent, reasonable, and justified.

     (2) The commissioner shall take into consideration actions taken by insurers to maintain membership in, and comply with the standards of, best practices organizations, and the extent to which insurers maintain regulatory compliance programs to self-assess, self-report, and remediate problems detected, and may include those considerations in determining the appropriate fines or penalties levied in accordance with subsection (1) of this section.

     (3) Commissioner enforcement actions shall not be based solely on violations identified in the insurer self-evaluative audit document, unless the commissioner confirms both that the violations occurred and that the insurer has not taken reasonable action based on the self-evaluative audit document to resolve and remediate the identified violations.

[2007 c 82 § 13.]