(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this section applies to all homeowners and private passenger automobile insurance pertaining to and issued in the state of Washington while this rule is effective.

(2) The insurance commissioner finds that as a result of the broad negative economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the disproportionately negative economic impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on communities of color, and the disruption to credit reporting caused by both the state and federal consumer protections designed to alleviate the economic impacts of the pandemic, for homeowners and private passenger automobile coverage issued in the state of Washington, the use of insurance credit scores results in premiums that are excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory within the meaning of RCW 48.19.020 and 48.18.480.

(3) For all homeowners and private passenger automobile coverage issued in the state of Washington, insurers must not use credit history to determine personal insurance rates, premiums, or eligibility for coverage.

(4) For purposes of this section, insurers must not:

(a) Use credit history to place insurance coverage with a particular affiliated insurer or insurer within an overall group of affiliated insurance companies.

(b) Use credit history to determine a consumer's eligibility for any payment plan.

(5)(a) In order to comply with this section, insurers subject to this rule may substitute any insurance credit score factor used in a rate filing with a neutral rating factor.

(b) For purposes of this section, insurers may, but are not required to, implement the neutral factor by peril or coverage.

(6) Insurers may not include rate stability rules in filings submitted to comply with this section.

(7) This subsection applies to insurers that have used credit history to place insurance coverage with a particular affiliated insurer or insurer within a group of insurance companies. For each such impacted insured, the insurer:

(a) Must provide the following notification to each impacted insured, no later than 60 calendar days prior to renewal: "You are currently insured with (COMPANY NAME) at least in part due to your credit history. You may also be eligible for coverage in one or more of our affiliated companies, which may provide a more competitive premium or broader coverage options. Factors other than credit history may still limit your eligibility for coverage. Please contact your Agent/Broker for further assistance. If you do not have an Agent/Broker, you may contact our customer service representatives directly at (PHONE NUMBER) for assistance. This notice does not constitute an offer of renewal or guaranteed coverage.";

(b) Must allow an impacted insured to either secure quotes, or secure coverage, or both, in an affiliated insurer that provides the same line of insurance; and

(c) May not consider the insured's prior company placement when determining premiums or eligibility for coverage for the impacted insured in an affiliated insurer that provides the same line of insurance.

(8) The temporary prohibition on the use of credit history in this section will remain in effect for three years following the day the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID–19) outbreak declared by the President on March 13, 2020, under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) terminates, or the day the Governor's Proclamation 20-05, proclaiming a state of emergency throughout the state of Washington as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States expires, whichever is later.

(9) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) Homeowners coverage includes dwelling property, mobile homeowners, manufactured homeowners, renters, and condominium owner's coverage.

(b) Private passenger automobile coverage includes motorcycles and recreational vehicle coverage.

(c) "Neutral factor" means a single constant factor calculated such that, when it is applied in lieu of insurance-score-based rating factors to all policies in an insurer's book of business, the total premium for the book of business is unchanged.