"Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that insurance companies are returning or expanding coverage in California in his final State of the State speech, but acknowledged that there is still "a lot of work to do here." His latest budget includes a financing program to help survivors of wildfires bridge the gap between insurance payouts and the costs of rebuilding. "This will help get survivors back in their homes much, much faster," he said."
"Eliminate "The List" Act (SB 495): Insurance companies have generally required wildfire survivors to submit a detailed list of everything in their house destroyed in a disaster in order to get reimbursed for those items. A new law, authored by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, eliminated this requirement. Insurance companies must now pay 60% of contents coverage limits, capped at $350,000, when customers lose their home in a qualifying disaster. Customers who do have a detailed list of all their belongings and their value can get 100%."
"This was one of the laws Dave Jones, former state Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2018, thinks will have the greatest impact for Californians. Creating "the list" following a catastrophic loss was emotionally taxing and logistically difficult for many people. As commissioner, he said, his office got insurance companies to voluntarily reimburse people for up to 50% of coverage limits for personal contents. He was glad to see this codified in law and raised to 60%."
Insurance companies are returning or expanding coverage in California while high premiums continue to threaten affordable housing. The state budget creates a financing program to help wildfire survivors bridge the gap between insurance payouts and rebuilding costs, intended to accelerate return to homes. The Eliminate "The List" Act (SB 495) requires insurers to pay 60% of contents coverage limits, capped at $350,000, for qualifying total losses; customers with detailed inventories can receive 100%. Former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones noted that voluntary reimbursements of up to 50% were secured previously and now are codified and raised to 60%. The California Wildfire Public Model Act (SB 429) funds the nation's first publicly available wildfire loss catastrophe model.
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