Senate committee advances AB 75 to limit insurers' use of aerial imagery and give homeowners access to images

Assemblymember Calderon told the California State Senate Insurance Committee that AB 75 would impose new consumer protections when insurers rely on aerial imaging — drones, aircraft and satellites — to make underwriting and renewal decisions for homeowners. "AB 75 provides new consumer protections to homeowners when insurers use aerial imaging to make decisions about coverage," Calderon said during the committee hearing.

The measure responds to complaints and Department of Insurance investigations that insurers and third-party vendors sometimes use outdated or inaccurate images to decide not to renew or cancel policies. "Insurers have been increasingly using images from drones, aircrafts and satellites instead of in person inspections to make underwriting decisions," Calderon said, adding the bill would require that images used to nonrenew, cancel or reduce coverage be no older than 180 days and that homeowners be given copies of any aerial images taken of their home.

"The Department of Insurance has provided consumer support in instances where flawed aerial imagery led to wrongful cancellations or renewals," Josephine Figueroa, deputy commissioner and legislative director for the California Department of Insurance, told the committee. Figueroa said the department has documented cases where insurers used outdated satellite photos to assess roof condition and then dropped coverage based on incorrect data.

Privacy and downstream use of images drew objections from privacy advocates. "A drone at only 100 foot elevation can be practically invisible to those of us on the ground ... yet it can capture crystal clear images of the intimate details of our private spaces," said Becca Kramermauter of Kaiser Advocacy, speaking on behalf of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Kramermauter said AB 75, as drafted, "lacks basic data minimization protections" such as limits on retention, mandatory blurring, and restrictions on downstream sales or sharing of images.

Consumer advocates urged automatic provision of images to homeowners. Robert Harel of the Consumer Federation of California said consumers "ought to get an automatic copy of any image to deal with the high error rate."

Committee members asked for clarifications about whether insurers themselves or third parties capture and subsequently sell imagery. Linda Milner of the Department of Insurance said imagery is often purchased from third-party providers, but insurers can also obtain images directly; she said she would follow up on whether insurers that capture images themselves sell them.

Calderon said the bill’s recent amendments delay implementation to 07/01/2026 to give insurers time to meet the timeliness requirement and that he would continue negotiating with stakeholders on privacy safeguards and downstream-use limits. The committee voted to pass the bill to the Judiciary Committee.

Votes and next steps: The committee recorded the motion "Do pass to Judiciary Committee" moved by Senator Caballero; the roll call recorded affirmative votes from Senators Rubio, Nilo, Becker, Caballero, Jones, Padilla and Wahab. The measure advances to the Judiciary Committee as amended.

Background and scope: AB 75 is limited to residential property insurance and addresses use of aerial imagery for underwriting, renewal and cancellation decisions. The bill, as amended in committee, requires insurer notice before capturing aerial images used for those actions, provides homeowners the right to request copies of images, gives homeowners the right to request an in-person inspection to verify imagery-based findings or remediation, and delays effective date to July 1, 2026 to allow industry adjustment.