Washington insurance commissioner to step down

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has confirmed that he will not seek re-election.

“Serving alongside you as Insurance Commissioner for Washington state has been, and continues to be, the greatest honor of my life,” said Kreidler in an email to his staff. “I’ve always said it was the best job I’ve ever had, and I still feel that way today.

“The list of issues we’ve tackled could go on and on, but at the end of the day, I think of the individual people we help—the thousands of families we’ve advocated for, day after day. That, above all else, is what makes me the most proud of this agency and of all of you.

“Now, it’s time for someone else to step forward and carry on this agency’s important consumer protection work. I know that my successor will be in good hands with all of you helping to lead the way.

“I intend to work just as hard for the rest of my term as I have for the last 22 years and remain as committed as ever to our mission. We have a lot of work left to do together and important initiatives already underway, from increasing premium transparency for consumers to continuing to push for a robust, dependable insurance market.

“I know that the pandemic and last few years have been hard on many of you personally and I’m grateful for your resiliency and dedication to our work. Indeed, it has been hard on all of us. Now, I wish you the very best and look forward to continuing to work alongside all of you.”

Kreidler was first elected as the insurance commissioner in 2000. He was re-elected to his sixth term as one of the country’s 11 elected insurance commissioners in 2020.

At the start of this year Kreidler promised to listen more to staff after being criticised for his management style.