California Legislature Passes Bill Aimed Collecting Data and Helping Wildfire Victims
The California Legislature has passed Senate Bill 824, a bill aimed at provided information to the California Department of Insurance related to fire risk information on the residential property policies issued by insurers.
The bill prohibits insurers from canceling or refusing to renew a policy based solely on the fact that the insured structure is located in the area of a declared state of emergency.
The bill authored by state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, is now headed to Gov. Jerry Brown.
“As extreme wildfire risk grows, data from insurers detailing and documenting this risk has not kept pace,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Requiring insurers to provide wildfire risk data will give the Department of Insurance an important additional tool to help protect the 3.6 million Californians living in the Wildland Urban Interface. This data should help Californians living in high-risk areas access insurance products protecting their homes and communities.”
According to Jones and other supporters of the bill, SB 824 will lead to the collection of important data that will provide a more comprehensive picture of the changes in the state’s insurance marketplace and will allow insurers to utilize aggregated information that should help them write more policies in the wildland urban interface without overextending their risk profile.
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