A coalition of 40 groups ranging from wildfire survivors to environmental to small business to and community organizations called on lawmakers to pass four bills in California Legislature they say will help people buy and keep homeowners insurance coverage.
The groups sent letters to the state Senate Insurance Committee urging members to approve the bills, which the committee will vote on during an April 22 hearing.
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Among the groups are Consumer Watchdog and the Every Fire Survivor’s Network, which are sponsoring the bills by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez and Senator Ben Allen.
The bills are:
- Senate Bill 1076, authored by Pérez, requires insurers to offer and renew coverage for homes that meet wildfire safety standards adopted by the insurance commissioner.
- Senate Bill 1301, authored by Allen, is designed to protect policyholders from unexplained and abrupt nonrenewals by requiring greater disclosure and time to respond before losing coverage.
- Senate Bil 877, authored by Pérez, is designed to help consumers challenge claim underpayments by requiring insurers to disclose all original loss estimates and all revisions.
- Senate Bill 878, authored by Pérez, would impose a 20% interest penalty when insurers don’t make payments on time.
The groups sponsoring the bills include: 350 Conejo/San Fernando Valley, Affordable Homeownership Foundation Inc., Altadena CoLab, Americans for Financial Reform, Ballona Wetlands Institute, Bay Area-System Change not Climate Change, Bright Operations, California Community Foundation, California Insurance Commissioner Emeritus Dave Jones, California Nurses Association, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Climate Defenders, Consumer Action, Consumer Attorneys of California, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Federation of California, Consumer Protection Policy Center, Consumer Watchdog, Courage California, Defend Ballona Wetlands, DENA RISE UP, Eaton Fire Renters Coalition, Eaton Fire Residents United, Every Fire Survivor’s Network, Extreme Weather Survivors, Food & Water Watch, Freeport Haven Project, Green America, Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, Leap of Faith Family to Family Support, My TRIBE Rise, Pasadenans Organizing Progress, Public Citizen, Rise Economy, SoCal 350 Climate Action, Sunflower Alliance, Team Palisades, The American Policyholder Association, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs, Xtreme Athletics Org.
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The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires prompted state officials to take several steps to address insurance coverage and claims payments. Another bill making its way through would create a statewide framework for handling wildfire smoke damage insurance claims. The Smoke Damage Recovery Act is being backed Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who said it stems from the recovery process after the L.A. wildfires and smoke damage claims.
Top photo: 2025 Pacific Palisades Fire. Photo by CalFire.
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