From our case files...

A sampling of recent cases our consumer advocacy staff has handled in the past few days (We get many consumer calls a day; these are very typical of the sorts of cases we deal with):

• A driver got into an accident with a business' truck in Seattle. The truck backed into his car. Yet the business' insurer initially offered to pay for only 70 percent of the nearly $2,400 in damage. The man complained to us. We contacted the insurer, which reviewed the case -- including photos provided by the car's owner -- and agreed to pay for all the damage.
• A Vancouver woman whose insurer wanted to cancel her policy due to a deteriorating roof asked for our help. We helped her get the company to renew the policy and keep her covered.
• An Issaquah man wanted to remove his daughter, who is a college student in another country, from his auto policy. The company refused. We asked them to review the decision. He got a $563 discount as a result.

If you live in Washington and need help with an insurance company, agent or broker, give us a call at 1-800-562-6900 or e-mail AskMike@oic.wa.gov. We won't send you to a phone tree try to sell you anything -- we're the state government agency that regulates the insurance industry in Washington state. We'll do our best to help.