SB 6248 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Addressing travel insurance.

SB 6248 establishes a new regulatory framework for travel insurance sold to Washington residents or offered within the state. It defines key terms like "eligible group" (covering organizations such as schools, employers, tour operators, and volunteer groups) and clarifies that the law applies to travel insurance policies, excluding cancellation fee waivers and travel assistance services. The bill requires insurers and brokers to comply with these new standards when selling policies to Washington residents or for groups meeting the defined criteria. This replaces conflicting provisions in existing insurance laws and aims to standardize travel insurance practices within the state.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Signed Mar 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute Bill → Substitute Passed Legislature · 3 edits

MINOR

The document was updated from a draft substitute bill to the final certified version passed by the Washington State Legislature. This change adds official certification signatures, vote counts, and filing dates, confirming the bill's legal enactment status.

TECHNICAL

Added official certification text, signatures, and vote tallies to confirm the bill passed both chambers.

Removed draft bill numbering (S-4566.1) and replaced it with the final 'Passed Legislature' designation.

TIMELINE

Inserted specific dates for Senate passage (February 11, 2026) and House passage (March 4, 2026).

Bill → Substitute Bill · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to reflect its progression through the legislative process, including updated sponsor attribution and a corrected effective date. Substantive changes include clarifying the legal hierarchy between this new chapter and existing insurance laws, refining definitions of who can sell travel insurance, and expanding the commissioner's enforcement authority over unlicensed actors.

Scope change

The bill's scope was technically adjusted by correcting the chapter number where new sections are added (from 48.43 to 48.30) and clarifying that the new chapter controls over conflicting general provisions within the same title.

TIMELINE

The bill's reading date was updated from January 21, 2026, to February 4, 2026, and the sponsor list was expanded to include the committee that originally handled the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The conflict resolution clause was strengthened to explicitly state that the new travel insurance chapter controls over any conflicting general provisions within Title 48 of the Revised Code of Washington.

Requirements for travel retailers were updated to specify that unlicensed retailers can only provide general information and cannot answer technical questions or evaluate existing coverage.

The filing requirements for travel insurance were expanded to allow rates to vary based on marketing or distribution channels and to clarify that these rules do not violate existing rate regulation statutes.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'travel administrator' was narrowed to exclude attorneys adjusting claims and business entities affiliated with insurers, while clarifying that attorneys are only exempt when adjusting losses incidentally to their legal practice.

ENFORCEMENT

New language was added to hold limited lines travel insurance producers responsible for acts committed by unlicensed persons under their supervision, allowing the commissioner to enforce penalties against the producer.

ELIGIBILITY

The requirement for travel administrators was changed from needing a general property and casualty license to specifically requiring a 'travel limited line of authority' license.

TECHNICAL

The chapter number referenced for adding new sections was corrected from 48.43 to 48.30.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 11, 2026 · House Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

50–1

Passed

Total votes 51

Feb 11, 2026

D Democratic31

31 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican20

19 Yea 1 Nay

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 23, 2026

Signed into law

Governor signed.

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Speaker signed.

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

President signed.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (96-0-4)

house

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

APP - Majority; do pass.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

CPB - Majority; do pass.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (50-1)

senate

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Business, Trade & Economic Development at 8:00 AM.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Business, Trade & Economic Development at 8:00 AM.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors