EDITORIAL: Why wildfire risks need immediate attention from next insurance commissioner

Nov. 19--It's now official: Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, has been elected insurance commissioner over former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who won the greater share of endorsements from California's editorial boards. Why did so many boards -- including The San Diego Union-Tribune's -- endorse Poizner over Lara, widely seen as an effective and hard-working lawmaker? One reason was his blithe attitudes about how insurers should respond to California's ever-increasing risk of wildfires.

In a Jan. 10 opinion piece written for the Union-Tribune, Lara criticized insurers for being leery of providing coverage to the 1 million homeowners in the state who lived in high-risk fire areas. He wrote that they should be forbidden "from canceling or non-renewing homeowners after a wildfire disaster" and should give "discounts to homeowners who take steps to reduce the risk of wildfire loss."

In a subsequent interview with the U-T Editorial Board, Lara acknowledged the criticism of his position and said state land-use policies that allowed homes to be built in "sensitive areas" were reckless. But he didn't back away from his policy stands.

What this translates into when Lara takes office in January is unclear. But with nearly 13,000 structures destroyed in the Camp fire in Northern California and nearly 1,500 torched in the Woolsey fire northeast of Los Angeles in the last two weeks, it's imperative that he reconsider his views. Instead of encouraging rebuilding in dangerous areas by making insurers provide coverage, he should take a more nuanced stand. An obvious first step is to say that those who do rebuild can get insurance only if they do as much as possible to reduce the risk of wildfire loss -- not that they should be rewarded for such a common-sense decision.

California is drier and hotter. This requires that Lara work with insurers to develop a new framework for thinking about fire risk -- not stick to an approach left over from cooler, safer times.

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