Senate committee backs raise in insurance surcharge to fund volunteer fire recruitment, training and protection; county-distribution amendment fails

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Senate Government Organization Committee voted to report a committee substitute for Senate Bill 20 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass, approving an increase in the policy surcharge on fire and casualty insurance from 0.55% to 1% and a corresponding raise in the surplus-lines surcharge from 4.55% to 5%.

The bill directs the additional revenue into three funds for volunteer fire department support: 64% to the Fire Protection Fund, 22% to the Fire Service Equipment and Training Fund, and 14% to a new Fire Service Recruitment and Retention Fund. Sponsors and fiscal documents estimate the surcharge change could raise an additional approximately $14,177,000 in the first year and make total distributions to volunteer fire departments about $31.5 million annually. The bill sets an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026, at the request of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner so changes align with calendar-year premium billing.

Committee counsel described how the bill inserts a new section (referred to in the bill as 15-11-11a) adjacent to existing code for the…