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State insurance official outlines wildfire and smoke-damage bills and home-hardening grants
Summary
An outreach analyst from the California Department of Insurance told the West Covina City Council about wildfire-driven market pressures, grant programs for home hardening, and pending bills to set smoke-damage standards and speed claims payments.
Judith P—ena, an outreach analyst for the California Department of Insurance, briefed the West Covina City Council on May 19 about tools the state is using to stabilize the insurance market and new legislation aimed at improving wildfire recovery for homeowners.
P—ena said insurers have pulled back from some California markets because of more frequent wildfires, higher rebuilding costs and rising reinsurance prices. She described the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which lets insurers use forward-looking catastrophe modeling and includes commitments by several carriers to write more policies in high-fire-risk areas.
"If homeowners reduce risk, their premium should reflect that," P—ena said, describing discounts tied to actions such as creating defensible space and installing fire-resistant roofs and vents. She said Assembly Bill 888 will fund grants to help low-income homeowners pay to harden homes in high-risk zones.
On the claims side, P—ena highlighted three items the department and the commissioner are pushing at the Legislature: Assembly Bill 1795, to create science-based standards for assessing and restoring homes after smoke damage; Senate Bill 876, to require insurer disaster recovery plans and speed claim payments; and AB 1680, a "Make It Fair" act to strengthen oversight of the FAIR Plan and improve its claims handling.
"Smoke damage claims are complicated because historically there have not been clear public health standards," P—ena said, noting the department's consumer recovery work and an investigation that led to substantial recoveries for consumers.
Council members asked about affordability and homeowner actions that could lower premiums. P—ena urged residents to sign up for consumer alerts and to contact the department if they are not receiving discounts for mitigation steps. She also outlined the department's low-cost auto insurance program and upcoming statewide webinars on residential and business insurance.
The presentation included a question-and-answer period during which P—ena identified insurers that had committed to writing new policies in higher-risk areas and described timelines for the grant program and other consumer supports. The council and staff said they would circulate the Department of Insurance materials and encourage residents in qualifying neighborhoods to apply for grants when available.
Why it matters: Local homeowners and small businesses already face rising premiums and, in some cases, limited options. The bills P—ena described aim to set standards for smoke-damage testing and restoration, expand coverage options and make disaster-recovery payouts faster and clearer for affected Californians.
