Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs SB2961 to extend post‑loss living‑expense benefits, delays effective date
Summary
The House committee voted to pass SB2961 SD1 with amendments to let homeowners apply additional living‑expense (ALE) benefits toward a temporary primary residence after a total loss, adopt dollar‑limit language in the bill’s definition section, and delay the law’s effective date to give insurers time to refile forms.
The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce voted to approve SB2961 SD1, a measure that would require homeowners insurance policies to allow an insured who sustains a total loss to apply additional living expense (ALE) benefits toward a temporary primary residence and to extend ALE benefits in certain total‑loss cases. Committee leadership amended the measure and recommended a delayed effective date to give regulators and insurers time to update forms and filings.
Supporters including the DCCA insurance division told the committee they back the bill but urged limits to prevent ALE benefits from becoming an open‑ended funding source. "The insurance division stands in support of SB2961," said Matt Sichuan, testifying for the insurance division, while noting concern that ALE benefits should remain subject to policy dollar limits. State Farm representative Blake Oster said the company “supports the intent” and offered technical amendments aligning with the council’s proposed language.
The committee adopted the chair’s proposed changes, moving language that makes ALE benefits "subject to the dollar limits provided in the policy" into the bill’s definitions so it applies broadly rather than repeated in multiple subsections. The committee also accepted an insurer request to delay the bill’s effective date; the committee report recommends an effective date in January 2027 to allow time for insurers to refile policy forms.
Chair recommendations recorded at the decision stage instruct staff to: note the delayed effective date in the committee report; adopt proposed technical amendments (including a minimum timing provision and clarifying the total‑loss trigger); and remove repeated references by consolidating limits into the definition section. The chair announced the measure passed on the floor recommendation and the committee’s roll call reflected majority support.
Next steps: the committee report will reflect the adopted amendments and the bill will advance per the committee’s recommendation.
