By Nicholas Gregory and Shawn Hanson ( July 3, 2018, 3:05 PM EDT) -- For followers of the insurance brokerage industry, it's been clear for some time now that something strange is happening in Washington state. Two years ago, Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner ordered[1] insurance broker Zenefits to stop giving away its software — free of charge — to the state's consumers. The result: Washington's consumers had to pay for a product that the residents of every other state in the nation received for free. Given the OIC's charge to protect consumers, it was a bizarre result, and one that left more than a few observers scratching their heads. As Forbes[2] put it: "It's not every day that the government steps in to make a company raise its prices."...