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Committee advances climate resilience insurance grant program to address insurance gaps
Summary
AB 12 36 would establish a Climate and Sustainability Insurance and Risk Reduction Grant Program at the Department of Insurance to pilot insurance interventions—such as parametric or community‑based products—and to fund risk‑reduction projects in vulnerable communities; the committee passed the bill to Appropriations.
Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez’s AB 12 36 was passed to the Appropriations Committee after testimony that the bill would create a grant program at the Department of Insurance to pilot approaches to close insurance protection gaps related to wildfire, flood, heat and sea‑level rise.
The bill’s sponsor and Insurance Department officials described pilot projects that would test community‑based insurance, parametric insurance and nature‑based solutions that integrate risk reduction with insurance coverage. Jesse Feenevigara (transcript name) and Michael Peterson from the Department of Insurance said the bill implements recommendations from a 2021 Climate Insurance Report and would prioritize areas with low insurance uptake and high climate risk.
Supporters included the Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund (as represented in testimony), Inclusive Action for the City, industry groups including the Personal Insurance Federation of California and the Pacific Association of Domestic Insurance Companies, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. No lead opposition was recorded in the committee testimony in the transcript.
Supporters and committee members framed the measure as a way to pilot innovative resilience strategies to reduce future losses and expand coverage in communities where homeowners, renters and small businesses lack protection. The committee voted to pass AB 12 36 to Appropriations; the hearing log later records the bill as “out 17 to 0.”
