Senate passes bill to study neighborhood wildfire mitigation and insurance links

The Oregon State Senate on April 16 passed Senate Bill 85 A, a measure directing the insurance commissioner and state fire marshal to develop a report on community-level wildfire mitigation and how mitigation should be reflected in insurance underwriting.

Sponsor Senator Golden told colleagues the bill aims so “that all property owners who do everything they reasonably can to reduce wildfire risk on their properties should have access to adequate and affordable insurance.” The bill, Golden said, tasks the insurance commissioner and the fire marshal with producing a report to the Legislature next February focused on community actions, programs and strategies — with special emphasis on neighborhood-scale efforts.

The nut of the proposal is to promote neighborhood-level risk reduction programs, such as Firewise USA and similar community risk-reduction efforts, and to encourage insurers to recognize those activities in underwriting and rating. ‘‘We have a simple goal ... that all property owners who do everything they reasonably can to reduce wildfire risk on their properties should have access to adequate and affordable insurance,’’ Golden said on the floor.

Senator Robinson and others supported the bill while urging clarity that the measure does not mandate private insurance contracts. Robinson said homeowners generally welcome state guidance on home-hardening and neighborhood organizing, and that private insurers remain free to set contract terms: ‘‘Nobody I talked to objected to the idea that the state would give them suggestions ... because everybody's different,’’ Robinson said.

Senator Bonham voiced support for the bill’s intent but sharply criticized earlier state actions he said contributed to the insurance market disruption — namely prior wildfire mapping and how insurers used those products. ‘‘We drove those people out of the market,’’ Bonham said of affected homeowners. He called for reflection on policy choices made in prior sessions even as he supported the current measure.

Sponsor Golden acknowledged disagreement over earlier policy choices and said Oregon faces the same insurance pressures as other Western states that experience mega-fires. Golden emphasized the bill does not require insurers to provide discounts but seeks to advance scientific understanding tying mitigation to underwriting decisions.

The final roll call recorded the bill as passed; the clerk declared Senate Bill 85 A passed after the measure received a constitutional majority on the third reading. The bill instructs the insurance commissioner and state fire marshal to prepare a report for the Legislature in February and to continue collaborative dialogue with insurers, research institutions and communities on wildfire preparedness and insurance recognition.

The bill’s passage represents a legislative step intended to align public mitigation efforts with private insurance incentives while acknowledging it does not itself change private contract law or compel insurers to adopt particular rating methods.