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Committee approves SB 547 to extend wildfire moratorium protections to some commercial policies
Summary
SB 547, a measure to extend wildfire cancellation/ nonrenewal moratoriums to specified commercial policyholders affected by declared emergencies, passed the Assembly Insurance Committee and was sent to Appropriations.
Senate Bill 547, presented by the Department of Insurance and carried in committee by Sen. Perez and coauthors, would extend an existing wildfire moratorium that temporarily bars insurers from canceling or refusing to renew residential property policies to specified commercial policyholders for one year after a state emergency declaration when the property is within a fire perimeter or adjacent ZIP code.
Josephine Figueroa of the Department of Insurance described the moratorium as an essential recovery tool for policyholders after catastrophic wildfire events and told the committee that the department has used the residential moratorium 36 times since 2018 to protect more than 4.4 million policyholders. SB 547 would broaden protections to include organizations that provide housing and essential community services — for example homeowners associations (HOAs), condo associations, affordable housing, small businesses, nonprofits, and food banks — that face immediate disruption after a declared emergency.
Supporters included consumer groups, cities, county supervisors, Realtors, community associations and housing groups. Several insurer trade groups that initially opposed the bill told the committee they would remove opposition after the committee’s amendments and committed to continued dialogue; APCIA and other trade groups said they appreciated the narrowing of the bill and would continue to consult on implementation.
Committee members generally supported the extension to commercial entities as a stability measure during recovery. The committee passed the bill to Appropriations.
Why it matters: Extending moratorium protections to specified commercial policyholders aims to stabilize community recovery after wildfire and reduce immediate economic disruption for organizations that serve vulnerable populations; insurers expressed concern about unintended consequences but removed opposition after narrowing amendments.
Sources: Department of Insurance presentation and stakeholder statements at the Assembly Insurance Committee hearing on SB 547 (Sen. Perez).
