Senator Pérez introduces bill requiring insurance companies to write and renew policies for fire-safe homes

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) introduced the Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes Act, SB 1076, to ensure homeowners who make their homes fire-safe can obtain and keep home insurance.  

The bill responds to wildfire survivors’ concerns that they could lose home insurance coverage after they rebuild, even if they meet the highest wildfire safety standards. SB 1076 would require insurance companies to offer homeowners insurance to Californians who meet home hardening and defensible space requirements set by the State Insurance Commissioner.  

Californians who have not experienced a wildfire face the same uncertainty. Enrollment in the insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, has doubled in just two years as hundreds of thousands of homeowners across California have lost their original insurance coverage.

“To help fire survivors return home, we need assurance that newly built, wildfire resilient homes will receive insurance coverage. Homeowners who meet or exceed safety standards should not be met with coverage denials,” said Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena). “I’ve spoken with Eaton Fire survivors whose newly built homes will meet the highest levels of protection against wildfires but still fear they won’t be able to purchase insurance. Being denied coverage after meeting safety standards sends the wrong message and is akin to being penalized for doing the right thing. SB 1076 will ensure that our communities’ insurance needs are met by making coverage available to them for making existing neighborhoods safer.”

The bill is co-sponsored by the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and Consumer Watchdog.

“Survivors are rebuilding stronger and safer. But if our community cannot access insurance even after making our homes fire-safe, our housing market will crater. SB 1076 protects both consumers and insurers,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network.

85% of voters surveyed in two separate polls by Hart Research and FM3 Research believe that home insurers should be required to cover homeowners who meet state fire safety guidelines.

“Wildfire safety measures can reduce communities’ fire risk by half, yet too often these steps are ignored when insurance companies decide who to cover. Homeowners deserve to know that when they invest in wildfire protection and make their home safer from wildfires, they will be able to insure it. That’s how we stem the insurance crisis and make all California communities safer,” said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog. 

California already has a similar fairness model in the auto insurance market. Existing state law enacted by the voters in Proposition 103 requires insurers to offer and sell a Good Driver Discount policy to any driver who meets the state’s good driver standard. Supporters say fire-safe homes deserve the same protection.

The legislation would: 

• Require insurance companies to offer and renew insurance coverage for any home that meets wildfire-safety standards adopted by the insurance commissioner, including home hardening measures and defensible-space requirements
• Allow the Commissioner to impose a five-year bar from both home and auto markets for insurers that refuse to comply

Studies from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, CalFire, and the University of California, Berkeley provide three examples of the broad scientific agreement that home-hardening and creating defensible space significantly reduce the risk of structural damage from a catastrophic fire. 

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Senator Sasha Renée Pérez is Chair of the Senate Education Committee and represents the 25th Senate District that includes the communities of Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.