Oregon's wildfire insurance law was not likely enough

As of Jan. 1, the law in Oregon is that an insurer can't cancel a homeowner's insurance policy or raise their premium because of the state's wildfire risk map.

It doesn't mean that policies won't be canceled because of wildfire risk.

It doesn't mean that premiums won't rise because of wildfire risk.

It does mean that the state's wildfire risk map won't be the direct antecedent.

The bill, Senate Bill 82, requires insurers to provide more information to policyholders about how they use wildfire risk scores. The resulting law also has a provision for homeowners that some might find helpful. It requires that insurance companies provide information to homeowners about "wildfire risk mitigation actions the insured could undertake to improve the insurability of the property, if there are any. "

The bill seems fine as far as it goes, but does it go far enough?

Anecdotally at least we have heard homeowners worry that their insurance has gone up or they can't get the kind of coverage they want related to wildfire risk. The state does offer a program for people who can't get insurance elsewhere, through the Oregon Fair Plan Association, orfairplan.com. Any insurance agent in Oregon can actually write policies for it. It's only basic coverage, though.

Some have called on the federal government to offer a more robust program. If it doesn't, Oregon should consider it.