Business Insurance in Washington

Business Insurance Requirements in Washington

Washington requires 25/50/10 auto liability ($25,000 per person bodily injury, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage). Washington is an at-fault state using pure comparative negligence. UM/UIM and PIP are not mandatory but insurers must OFFER both in writing; drivers must reject them in writing. Roughly 21% of Washington drivers have been estimated uninsured (one of the higher rates in the U.S.). VKOVR strongly recommends UM/UIM at 100/300 and PIP above the $10k offered floor, especially for Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett, and I-5/I-405 commuters. Standard homeowners insurance in Washington covers wind, winter-storm, and fire — including wildfire in most cases — but EXCLUDES flood and earthquake. Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake exposure is real across the entire state; earthquake endorsements or standalone policies should be evaluated explicitly rather than defaulted out of. Wildfire has become a standard peril east of the Cascades (Chelan, Okanogan, Spokane, Yakima counties) and increasingly along the I-5 foothills; defensible-space compliance and brush-deductibles are increasingly common. Volcanic-lahar risk around Mt. Rainier affects valley ZIP codes in Pierce County. Flood requires NFIP or private flood — especially for Puget Sound tidal surge, Snohomish/Skagit river basins, and burn-scar runoff. Coverage A should track post-2022 WA rebuild costs. Washington workers' compensation is provided exclusively by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), the state monopoly fund — employers cannot buy workers' comp from private carriers (self-insurance allowed only for qualified large employers). L&I coverage is mandatory for virtually all employers. Tech (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond — Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google), aerospace (Boeing, Blue Origin), Port of Seattle/Tacoma logistics, healthcare (UW Medicine, Providence, Virginia Mason), retail HQ (Starbucks, Costco, Nordstrom), and agriculture (Yakima, Wenatchee) drive distinctive Washington commercial pricing; general liability, cyber, D&O, product liability, and commercial auto matter broadly. Washington's $2.193M state estate-tax exemption — one of the lowest in the country — also makes ILIT-based life-insurance planning materially important for middle- and upper-middle-class WA households.