WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

SB 5141

Requiring that experience-rated group disability income insurers include all applicable rating factors and credibility formulas in rate manual filings with the insurance commissioner.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Manka Dhingra and 4 co-sponsors

Requires experience-rated group disability insurers to file complete rating formulas in the rate manual, enabling replication of premiums and reducing separate filings.

Effective date 7/27/2025.
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 5141

Summary of Senate Bill 5141 (Washington, 69th Legislature, 2025)

Overview

SB 5141 requires that experience-rated group disability income insurers file their rating formulas in a more complete and transparent way with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC). Specifically, insurers must include all applicable rating factors and credibility formulas as part of the rate manual, enabling the OIC to replicate premiums for a given employer group from the manual and the group’s experience and demographics. The bill aims to streamline rate approvals and curb administrative costs associated with separate rate filings for each experience-rated group.

  • Introduced: January 7, 2025
  • Passed Legislature: Senate (Feb 25, 2025), House (Mar 31, 2025)
  • Governor signed: April 8, 2025
  • Chapter number: Chapter 27, 2025 Laws
  • Effective date: July 27, 2025 (the act takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which it was passed)

Key Provisions

  • Expanded rate manual filings: For disability insurance, and specifically for experience-rated group disability income insurance, insurers must file their experience rating formulas within the rate manual. This includes all rating factors and credibility formulas used to calculate premiums.
  • Credibility and replication: Filings must be detailed enough to confirm whether a group is fully or partially credible and to allow the Commissioner to replicate the group’s premium rates using the group’s recorded experience and demographics.
  • Elimination of certain filings: The bill supports moving away from the prior practice of requiring a separate single-case rate filing for each experience-rated group (as advised by the OIC in 2023) by embedding the necessary formulas in the rate manual filings.

Affected Parties

  • Primary: Experience-rated group disability income insurers
  • Regulatory: Office of the Insurance Commissioner (Washington)
  • Employers/Groups: Employers that purchase group disability income insurance for employees
  • Consumers: Policyholders covered under group disability income plans

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Legislative path: Prefiled 1/7/25; introduced 1/13/25; committee activity in CPB (Consumer Protection & Business) and BFT; passed both chambers in late February to March 2025; governor signed 4/8/2025.
  • Effective date: 7/27/2025 (90 days after adjournment)
  • No appropriations: The bill does not include an appropriation.

Fiscal Impact

  • Fiscal note: Available; no specific appropriation included in the bill.
  • Practical impact: By standardizing and detailing rate formulas in rate manuals, the bill is expected to reduce administrative costs and potentially streamline premium-rate approval processes, while preserving regulatory oversight.

Rationale and Public Testimony

  • Support (as summarized in testimony): The change would streamline rate approval by reducing the need for multiple single-rate filings, lower administrative expenses, and help control premium costs. The Insurance Commissioner remains involved in initial fillings, preserving consumer protections.
  • Opposition: None noted in the public testimony summarized.

Legislative Context

  • Background: Disability income insurance provides partial wage replacement; employers may offer group disability coverage. Experience rating uses an employer group’s claims history, payroll, and demographics to set premiums.
  • Relationship to prior guidance: The 2023 OIC advisory encouraged single-case filings for experience-rated products; SB 5141 shifts the framework toward comprehensive rate-manual-based disclosures.

This summary captures the bill’s intent, major provisions, beneficiaries, and key procedural milestones, providing a clear view of how SB 5141 would affect rate filings for experience-rated group disability income insurers.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.