California Orders Insurance Nonrenewal Moratorium for 50,000 Following Dove Fire

Property insurers are prohibited from canceling or declining to renew coverage for 50,000 residential policyholders in Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Calaveras counties for one year following the Dove Fire.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued the moratorium following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Oct. 15 emergency declaration. The moratorium applies to properties in 15 ZIP codes within or around the fire perimeter, regardless of whether they suffered losses.

The moratorium also extends to certain commercial property policies, including coverage for homeowners associations, apartment complexes, condominium associations, student housing and senior living facilities.

Insurers that issued cancellation or nonrenewal notices due to wildfire risk on or after the emergency declaration must offer to rescind those notices and reinstate or renew eligible policies.

Wildfire moratoriums protected more than 1.2 million homeowners in 2025 and more than 4 million statewide since the residential moratorium law was enacted in 2019, according to the California Department of Insurance.