Travelers who go to Nepal, Israel, Kenya and 25 other countries that the U.S. State Department currently advises Americans to avoid could have fewer problems qualifying for life insurance under a bill moving through the Washington State Legislature.

Insurers routinely use travel to countries on the State Department's list as a risk indicator when considering whether to deny someone's application for life-insurance coverage, said Rob Jacobs, director of the Pacific Northwest region of the Anti-Defamation League, a supporter of the legislation.

"What we found is that people who have traveled to these countries, in many cases within the last two years, or state that they intend to travel there, are being denied life insurance," he said.

The league began pushing for changes after one of its board members who travels to Israel found he was being denied life-insurance coverage, Jacobs said.

A bill approved by the House and amended and passed by a Senate committee, would ensure that companies not deny coverage just because of a State Department warning and would require them to show statistical evidence for their assessments of the risk in various countries. John Mangan, regional vice president for the American Council of Life Insurers, said insurers already do that.

The new rules would apply to any company selling insurance to Washington state residents.

"We have to show what we normally would show," that decisions are backed up by facts and statistics on the risks involved, Mangan said. The legislation makes that a "little more overt," he said. "Right now, we have a little more leeway in the kind of information we use."

The industry agreed to a compromise amendment hammered out in a Senate committee and won't oppose the legislation, he said. Both sides expect it to pass.

The number of countries appearing on the State Department's list has increased since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One criticism is that the warnings are general and apply to an entire country even if problems have occurred only in a particular area within that nation.

A small amount of life insurance — $20,000 to $50,000 — is a standard part of most travel-insurance packages. Those who want more can buy stand-alone policies specifically aimed at travelers, but the costs vary according to the destination, said Jim Grace, president of InsureMyTrip.com, which sells travel-insurance policies online for 14 companies.

Under policies underwritten by Lloyd's of London, the cost for $150,000 worth of coverage for a month's stay in Germany is $155. The premium is $1,130 for travel to Indonesia or Columbia and $1,880 for travel in Israel or Iraq.

Carol Pucci: 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com