S-4544.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6577

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By Senator Prentice

Read first time 01/18/96.  Referred to Committee on Financial Institutions & Housing.

Restricting the use of credit history for automobile insurance.

    AN ACT Relating to automobile insurance; and adding a new section to chapter 48.18 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 48.18 RCW to read as follows:

    The credit history of an applicant for, or holder of, an automobile insurance policy shall not be used as a factor by the insurer in determining the eligibility or rates of the applicant or policyholder for such insurance.  For the purpose of this section, "credit history" means the financial information on a consumer credit report, and does not mean health, driving record, or other nonfinancial information.  This section does not allow or encourage the gathering of other than financial information on credit reports.

                            --- END ---