Washington Insurance Commissioner Kuderer On Her Climate Risk Priorities

Commissioner Patty Kuderer has been in office for 104 days. She’s got a lot on her plate.

As Washington’s top insurance official, Kuderer is responsible for overseeing the more than 800 insurers in the state and protecting policy holders from unfair practices. She’s also driving her office to address climate risks to the local insurance market and championing legislation that could harden homeowners and whole communities against floods and wildfires.

In this episode, she shares how her office is tackling the mounting challenges of insurance affordability and availability in the face of climate-driven hazards. She explains her philosophy of prevention-first regulation and outlines new initiatives, including efforts to collect and analyze wildfire and non-renewal data and promote consumer education of climate threats to their insurance coverage.

Kuderer also reflects on the structural barriers to more coordinated resilience efforts, including legislative gridlock and political resistance to climate action. She shares her concerns about the weakening of federal agencies like FEMA and NOAA, and makes a strong case for the importance of state-level leadership while a climate denier inhabits the White House.

This episode offers a front-line perspective from a top regulator confronting climate threats to the insurance system. It's essential listening for InsurTechs, NGOs, and policymakers working to meet this moment.

👉 How climate risks are straining Washington’s insurance market, leading to rising non-renewals and affordability issues

👉 Why Kuderer is backing wildfire risk data collection, community grant programs, and better flood risk awareness

👉 The importance of state-level climate leadership, especially as federal agencies like FEMA and NOAA face political interference and funding cuts

👉 Why improved data sharing between insurers and regulators — and across government departments — is essential to improved resilience actions, and why it’s tricky to achieve in practice

👉 Why insurance must be understood as a shared, systemic challenge, and why that demands better coordination between individuals, insurers, and property developers