Insurance commissioner

Thank you.

Welcome back to OIC Answers on Insurance, a podcast from the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

I'm your host, Betty Roberts, and I'm an intern at the office's Public Affairs Department.

This is a podcast where we will talk about insurance issues in Washington State.

What are the lessons learned from the Spokane complex and other large fires that scorched nearly a million acres in Washington this summer? We asked Steve Brooks, Executive Director of the Washington Fire Chiefs Association, and Leonard Johnson, Chief of the McLean Black Lake Fire Department.

Plus, Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer and the implications for home and property insurance.

From the TVW studio, it's Inside Olympia with host Austin Jenkins.

Welcome to Inside Olympia and the start of our fall season.

The Spokane complex was just one of several large and destructive fires this summer.

Our focus this week is on the changing wildland fire environment, the lessons learned from what happened this year, and what can be done to mitigate and prepare for future fire seasons.

In our second half, we will talk with State Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer about the implications for the home and property insurance marketplace, Joining me first are two experts from the fire service.

Steve Brooks is executive director of the Washington Fire Chiefs Association, and Leonard Johnson is chief of the McLean Black Lake Fire Department.

Within a few days, it destroyed more than 620 homes and caused what officials estimate to be $1 billion in damage, which makes it the most expensive wildfire in Washington state history.

And within a day or two of the fire starting, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner swung into action.

Commissioner Patty Cooter sent insurance experts east to staff the Disaster Assistance Center and attend town halls and other fire response meetings, and signed emergency orders to provide premium relief and allow for extra prescription refills for fire survivors.

So today, on this episode of the OIC Answers podcast, we're checking in with our disaster response staffers to find out what they saw and what we've learned about wildfire claims.

Welcome to OIC Answers, a podcast from the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

I'm Aaron Vantile, and I'm with the OIC's Public Affairs team.

This is a podcast where we talk about insurance issues in Washington State and what our office does about them.

Javier Becerra, he had been the Attorney General of California.

Kathleen Sebelius had been, I think, Governor and the Insurance Commissioner.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had not had one of these big government jobs running a big organization.

He hadn't been University president like Tommy Thompson, another past HHS secretary.