The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner was created in 1889âÂÂ90, and became a separate agency in 1907 with an elected commissioner. The current commissioner is Patty Kuderer, a Democrat first elected in 2024 and assumed office in 2025.
In 2014, a bill was introduced to replace the elected commissioner with a 10-person board which would hire the commissioner. It was passed in both houses but vetoed by Governor Jay Inslee.
In 2015, the office denied applications by a number of association health plans, resulting in a legal dispute with those affected.