#fair-plan

#fair-plan

State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, D-Pasadena, who has worked to bring more transparency to the insurance claims process for survivors of last year's wildfires, has proposed Senate Bill 1076. Known as the Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes Act, it would require insurance companies to offer or renew insurance for properties that meet wildfire safety standards set by State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that provides policies to people who can't get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure. The number of homeowners forced onto the FAIR Plan has skyrocketed. With high premiums and basic coverage, the plan is designed as a temporary option until homeowners can find permanent coverage. But more Californians are relying on it than ever as increasingly devastating and destructive fires spark across the state, including in densely populated areas.

In the closing days of the legislative year, California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that is meant to toughen scrutiny of the state's embattled fire insurer of last resort by insisting that two of their leaders join its governing committee. Assembly Bill 234 would put the state's two top lawmakers currently Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on the governing committee of the FAIR Plan, the insurer that's mandated by law to sell policies to homeowners who can't