Finishing up your holiday shopping? Here are a few things to consider.

What should I do if gifts are stolen from my car?

Tired after a long day of shopping and you don’t unload your car? Or did you load your car with packages that you need to mail? If you find yourself the victim of a car break-in when you have a car full of gifts, your homeowner or renter insurance will cover the contents. If you do file a claim, make sure you have receipts for what was stolen, and you should be prepared to turn in a copy of the police report, if one exists. Damage to your car would be covered by your auto insurance.

Read more about understanding your auto insurance.

Is warranty worth buying for gifts or high-ticket items?

We encourage consumers to carefully read the terms of the warranty before making a decision. We also encourage consumers to find out if a warranty company is registered to do business in Washington state.

Complaints we get from consumers generally focus on warranty claims that the companies say aren’t covered, or consumers requesting a refund when they change their mind about the warranty. The warranty contract will tell consumers how they can request a refund; state law requires a 10-business-day window to request a refund of a warranty.

If you are unhappy with the service you receive with a warranty you purchase, you can file a complaint with us.

Read more about warranties and service contracts.

Should I buy travel insurance?

If you are getting ready to travel for the holidays, here are some things to consider about travel insurance before you decide if it's worth it.

Many travel companies—airlines, cruise lines, resorts—offer travel insurance that will refund most or all of the cost of the trip in certain circumstances. Policies typically cover things like trip cancelations due to illness, civil unrest, job loss, or the carrier going out of business. They’ll also pay for fees incurred by missed connections and delays; baggage damage or loss; medical expenses incurred by an injury or illness while traveling; emergency evacuation; car rental damage; and accidental death.

Before you decide whether to purchase travel insurance, you should consider:

• What your medical insurance covers when you travel.
• What your homeowner or renter insurance covers in the event of lost or stolen belongings.
• What your life insurance policy covers in the event of accidental death while traveling.
• What the cancelation policy is for the travel insurance.
• Read the policy's fine print. Some don't cover certain activities such as hang-gliding, bungee jumping or other physical contact sports. Some also exclude certain pre-existing conditions from the medical coverage they offer.
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• You should also make sure the travel insurance company is licensed to sell insurance in Washington.

Read more about travel insurance on our website.

OIC web-based applications will be down tonight

Starting at 5 p.m. tonight, OIC’s website applications will be unavailable while the state Department of Consolidated Technology Services—the state’s IT agency—moves our applications to new servers. We expect the applications will be available early tomorrow morning. Our website, www.insurance.wa.gov, will remain live.

The outage will primarily affect insurance companies, insurance agents and brokers, consumers who have complaints and State Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) volunteers.

Most of our online services will be unavailable, including:

• Agent and broker online licensing
• Online consumer complaints
• Agent and company lookup
• Online filing search
• SHIBA online

We appreciate your patience.

Washington receives $192,293 from multistate insurance settlement

Washington state is receiving $192,293 as part of a multistate settlement against Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. and two of its affiliated companies.

Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., Lincoln Life and Annuity Co. of New York, and First Penn Pacific Life Insurance Company—part of the Lincoln Group Companies—agreed to a $12.6 million settlement regarding its policies and procedures for identifying and paying customers and their beneficiaries for life insurance policies, retained asset accounts and annuity contracts.

Six states’ insurance commissioners led the case--California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. The settlement terms require Lincoln to reform some business practices and regulatory oversight for several years, culminating in a final review in five years.

In Washington, fines paid by insurance companies are deposited in the state's general fund to pay for state government operations and public K-12 education. Life insurance pays a predetermined amount of money to beneficiaries upon the death of the policyholder. Read more about life insurance on OIC’s website.

People in federal high-risk insurance pool get extra month of coverage

President Obama’s administration announced yesterday that people who participate in the federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will be covered through Jan. 31, 2014. The extension affects about 443 Washington residents and about 135,000 nationwide. The pool covers people who were previously ineligible for health insurance because of chronic pre-existing health conditions including cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. The extension allows people in the pool more time to find coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Approximately 3,675 Washington residents are covered under the Washington State Health Insurance Pool (WSHIP), which is the state’s insurance plan for people with chronic health conditions. People in that plan will keep their coverage through the end of 2017. Both the federal and state high-risk insurance pools are closed to enrolling new members.

WashingtonHealthplanfinder, Washington’s health benefit exchange, has been unavailable for many people this month. Yesterday, Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler advised people who are not eligible for a subsidy and are still tyring to find insurance before Jan. 1 to find health insurance from a private broker or agent. Washington residents with incomes of up to $45,960 for an individual and up to $94,200 for a family of 4 are eligible for subsidized insurance plans through the Washington health benefit exchange. Read the news release.

Are all of the contents of my home covered by my insurance policy?

Maybe, maybe not. Some policies offer limited coverage for items such as jewelry, art, coins, stamp collections, furs, guns or business-related property. If you own these types of items, talk to your agent to determine if you need to buy increased coverage or a separate policy to cover the value of those items.

You will be expected to prove your ownership of the items with receipts or with photos of the damaged or missing items. Don’t wait until you have a loss to find out what your policy covers and requires.

Read more about understanding your homeowners insurance.

Witness smokes out insurance fraud by business owner

A Renton business owner has been sentenced after being found guilty of insurance fraud and first-degree theft, both felonies.

Cassk Thomas, Jr., owner of Sams Pitt II Mobile BBQ, filed a claim in August 2011 with American Family Insurance that the barbecue smoker and trailer he used to operate his mobile barbecue business were stolen. He sought reimbursement for $24,668 in lost business and $32,243 that he said he paid for the smoker and trailer. American Family Insurance paid him a total of nearly $56,000 – $30,474 for the smoker and trailer and the full amount he claimed for lost business. A witness later provided proof that the smoker and trailer were purchased by a former business partner for $9,740.

Mr. Thomas was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 120 hours of community service, and faces restitution to American Family Insurance. The full restitution amount will be determined by May 2014.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit investigates insurance fraud. You can report suspected insurance fraud on our website.