California Releases Final ZIPs for Non-Renewal Protection for 2020 Wildfires

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that nearly 500 policyholders in six ZIP codes affected by the Mountain View Fire in Mono County were included in the mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing or cancelling residential property insurance policies.

That brings the total to nearly 2.4 million policyholders covered under the statewide moratorium as a result of this year’s wildfires.

Lara’s action implements a California law that he authored in 2018 while serving as state senator in order to provide temporary relief from non-renewals to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire emergency.

The latest areas added bring the total number of ZIP Codes covered by the Commissioner’s moratorium to 563 due to wildfires included in Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency declarations in 2020. The Mountain View Fire was included in Governor Newsom’s November 18 emergency declaration.

“In a year that brought an unprecedented number of wildfires across the state, I implemented this critical consumer protection for millions of residents to help them recover,” Lara said in a statement.

The areas include the communities of Coleville, Walker, Long Barn, Cold Springs, Bridgeport, Willow Springs, Markleeville, Paynesville, and Lee Vining, as well as areas on the border of California and Nevada. Consumers can go to the Department of Insurance’s website to see if their ZIP Code is included in the moratorium.

Related:

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• Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk
• California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Cover Wildfire Losses Sans Home Inventory