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Napa County authorizes letter urging California insurance reforms, adds homeowner ROI and reinsurance focus
Summary
Supervisors approved a letter to the California Insurance Commissioner seeking reforms to reduce reliance on the FAIR Plan and urging recognition of county and homeowner investments in wildfire risk reduction; supervisors asked staff to follow up with additional analysis and outreach.
NAPA COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 authorized a letter to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara (noticed in discussion as "Laura" in the meeting transcript) asking the state to press for reforms that would reduce the number of property owners reliant on the FAIR Plan and to improve market conditions after large wildfire losses.
Staff framed the letter as part of ongoing county advocacy: Napa County and its residents have invested tens of millions of dollars in home hardening, vegetation management and other wildfire mitigation steps, and the county wants those investments to be recognized by insurers and reinsurers. County staff said recent Los Angeles County wildfire losses, with reported FAIR Plan exposures in the billions, underline the need to shrink the insurer‑of‑last‑resort and to stabilize admitted markets.
Supervisors asked two edits before approving. First, Supervisor Cottrell asked the letter to explicitly note the return on investment (ROI) for individual property owners’ home‑hardening and defensible‑space work, not only county investments. Second, Supervisor Ramos asked the board to call out the reinsurance market and the lack of reinsurance capacity as a root cause constraining admitted insurers, and to note that the Insurance Commissioner’s rules on credits for mitigation have not yet translated into broader market acceptance.
Board action: The board voted unanimously to send the letter as amended and directed staff to continue advocacy at state and federal levels and to bring back a follow‑up letter or analysis that could include data on households that have lost private coverage entirely.
Why it matters: Supervisors said that changes in the admitted insurance market and a rising FAIR Plan population can have long‑term consequences for affordability and availability of insurance across the state, and that policy actions should recognize both public and private investments in risk reduction.
Vote: Motion to authorize transmittal of the letter (as amended to add homeowner ROI and reinsurance clarification) — motion by Supervisor Ramos; second by Supervisor Alessio; unanimous (5–0).
