By Zachary Lerner ( January 10, 2019, 4:48 PM EST) -- The practice of procuring coverage by means of "direct procurement" has been viewed as a constitutional right in the United States since the 1960s, but regained national attention in 2018 when Microsoft entered into a consent order with the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner in connection with the failure of its subsidiary captive insurer, Cypress Insurance Company, to pay a premium tax on over $70 million of generated premium. The consent order has left the insurance industry in a state of flux over whether the ability to directly procure coverage is being eroded by various states, as further illustrated by a number of case law and advisory opinions suggesting that insurance companies may now be subject to taxation on directly procured policies....