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Committee advances bill requiring automatic payments for FAIR Plan policies
Summary
AB 290, authored by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, was approved by the Assembly Insurance Committee as amended and referred to Appropriations. Supporters said requiring the California FAIR Plan to offer autopay and limiting nonrenewal gaps would protect consumers; the FAIR Plan urged more time to implement.
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 290, which would require the California FAIR Plan to offer automatic payment options and add a grace-period safeguard against inadvertent nonrenewals, was ordered to the Appropriations Committee after committee members expressed broad support and industry witnesses urged compromise on timing.
Bauer-Kahan recounted personal experience of being moved to the FAIR Plan after losing coverage and said her premium rose roughly 300%. She said the FAIR Plan’s lack of autopay jeopardized continuous coverage for policyholders and prompted the bill to require autopay implementation. “I am not on the FAIR Plan because I want to be. I’m on the FAIR Plan because I have to be,” Bauer-Kahan said.
Consumer advocates including the Consumer Federation of California testified in support, arguing roughly hundreds of thousands of Californians rely on the FAIR Plan and need basic payment tools. The FAIR Plan’s representative, Veil Franco, told the committee the plan is working toward automated payments but asked for a later implementation date than the bill’s April 1, 2026 deadline, and requested removal of a proposed grace period for nonrenewals. Franco cited current operational burdens: catastrophic wildfire claims, implementing wildfire discount programs and expanding commercial policy limits.
Committee members from districts with rapid FAIR Plan growth voiced urgency. One member cited county-level FAIR Plan increases of 300%–560% over four years and urged an urgency clause; others asked to be added as coauthors. The committee accepted amendments and the measure was moved to Appropriations as amended. Members recorded aye votes in roll call.
The bill as amended requires the FAIR Plan to implement automatic payment options and prescribes consumer-notice protections for renewals; FAIR Plan staff and the author’s office said they would continue technical discussions about timeline and the scope of a grace period for nonrenewals.
AB 290 will proceed to the Appropriations Committee for fiscal review and any further amendments.
