California Moratorium on Cancellations and Non-Renewals of select Residential Property Insurance Policies following Wildfires

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara published a Bulletin in an effort to protect consumers following the Smith River and Happy Camp Complex fires. He has said, “Consumers affected by these recent wildfires need to have peace of mind that they have time to assess, rebuild, and recover, and not have the added pressure of worrying about their insurance. My number one priority is to protect California consumers.” The Bulletin is addressed to all admitted and non-admitted insurers writing residential property insurance in California, and states that there is a mandatory moratorium on cancellations and non-renewals of residential property insurance policies in certain ZIP codes.

The Bulletin quotes Insurance Code section 675.1 (b)(1), which states, “An insurer shall not cancel or refuse to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in any ZIP code within or adjacent to the fire perimeter, for one year after the declaration of a state of emergency…based solely on the fact that the insured structure is location in an area in which a wildfire has occurred”.