Remnants of John Diehl’s State Farm business in Altadena (File Photo – Colorado Boulevard Newspaper)
CA Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) has introduced legislation aimed at ensuring homeowners who invest in wildfire safety measures can obtain and maintain property insurance coverage.
By News Desk
The proposed measure, Senate Bill 1076, known as the Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes Act, would require insurance companies to offer and renew homeowners insurance policies to Californians whose properties meet wildfire safety standards set by the State Insurance Commissioner. Those standards include home-hardening upgrades and defensible space requirements designed to reduce fire risk.
The bill comes in response to concerns from wildfire survivors who fear they could lose coverage after rebuilding their homes, even when reconstruction meets the highest fire-resilience standards.
“To help fire survivors return home, we need assurance that newly built, wildfire resilient homes will receive insurance coverage. Homeowners who meet or exceed safety standards should not be met with coverage denials,” Pérez said. “I’ve spoken with Eaton Fire survivors whose newly built homes will meet the highest levels of protection against wildfires but still fear they won’t be able to purchase insurance. Being denied coverage after meeting safety standards sends the wrong message and is akin to being penalized for doing the right thing. SB 1076 will ensure that our communities’ insurance needs are met by making coverage available to them for making existing neighborhoods safer.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and Consumer Watchdog.
“Survivors are rebuilding stronger and safer. But if our community cannot access insurance even after making our homes fire-safe, our housing market will crater. SB 1076 protects both consumers and insurers,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network.
The proposal also addresses broader instability in California’s insurance market. Enrollment in the state’s insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, has doubled in two years as hundreds of thousands of homeowners have lost traditional coverage. Residents who have not experienced wildfire damage face similar uncertainty about maintaining their insurance policies.
Supporters point to polling data indicating strong public backing for reform. According to two separate surveys conducted by Hart Research and FM3 Research, 85% of voters believe home insurers should be required to cover homeowners who meet state fire safety guidelines.
Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said wildfire mitigation efforts can significantly reduce risk but are often overlooked in underwriting decisions.
“Wildfire safety measures can reduce communities’ fire risk by half, yet too often these steps are ignored when insurance companies decide who to cover. Homeowners deserve to know that when they invest in wildfire protection and make their home safer from wildfires, they will be able to insure it. That’s how we stem the insurance crisis and make all California communities safer,” Balber said.
The bill mirrors an existing fairness model in California’s auto insurance market. Under Proposition 103, insurers are required to offer and sell a Good Driver Discount policy to motorists who meet the state’s good-driver standard. Backers of SB 1076 argue that homeowners who make their properties fire-safe deserve similar protections.
If enacted, the legislation would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to bar noncompliant insurers from participating in both the home and auto insurance markets for five years.
If enacted, the legislation would authorize the insurance commissioner to bar noncompliant insurers from participating in both the home and auto insurance markets for five years.
Supporters cite studies from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the University of California, Berkeley as evidence of broad scientific agreement that home-hardening and defensible space measures significantly reduce the risk of structural damage during catastrophic wildfires.
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