Insurance Industry 2, Wildfire Survivors 0
Insurance Commissioner
Wildfire season already has
"Unfortunately, the insurance industry has chosen yet again to prioritize its insatiable appetite for profit over its own policyholders' who have and continue to suffer after losing everything in the devastating wildfires," said Commissioner Jones. "This common-sense proposal is the last resort for many wildfire survivors. It's a shame that the insurance industry, supposedly responsible for protecting
Despite the desperate need of many wildfire survivors to recover and rebuild, insurers pushed to inject into SB 894 a provision that takes a weakened version of a bill by Senator
SB 894 is aimed at helping claimants avoid the huge financial burden of being underinsured by tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars and unable to afford to rebuild. Underinsurance is not only a financial blow to disaster survivors, it is economically devastating to communities because, as one of the most challenging obstacles to loss recovery, it delays claim settlements which delays rebuilding. Insurers have failed to address this significant issue through any efforts of their own.
The bill still provides survivors the option to combine various coverages within their homeowner policy to help offset some of the underinsured amount in their primary dwelling, but only in a limited fashion after narrowing at the hands of the insurance industry. Consumers only qualify for this provision if they meet three tests: 1) It is following a declared disaster; 2) They suffer a total loss; 3) They are underinsured in their primary dwelling or Coverage A.
SB 894 would have also extended policy renewal protections for survivors retroactively to
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