Washington Fines Utah-Domiciled Captive for Failing To Register

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined a Utah-domiciled captive insurance company $10,000 as part of more than $305,000 in fines levied in November against insurance companies and insurance producers that violated Washington state insurance laws and regulations.

Mr. Kreidler fined Geoduck Insurance Group, Inc., for conducting insurance business in Washington between 2014 and 2021 without being registered as a captive insurer.

According to the consent order associated with the case, Geoduck was licensed in Utah in May 2014 and transacted insurance business in Washington since 2014. The company filed an application with the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to register as a captive insurer in November 2021 but was notified in January 2022 that the application had been rejected due to the company's ownership structure.

In July 2022, Geoduck informed the OIC that it intended to reorganize and resubmit an application to register as a captive insurer. The OIC received the application in October 2022 and issued a certificate of registration in April 2023.

The consent order said that documents provided by Geoduck showed it collected more than $8 million in premiums on Washington risks from 2014 to 2021. In September, the captive paid $181,797 in premium taxes, interest, and penalties on those premiums, according to the order.