2017 Railroad Fire in Madera and Mariposa Counties
Credit: CA. OES

Commissioner Jones and legislators unveil Wildfire Survivors Insurance Recovery Blueprint 

January 16, 2018 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and legislators from wildfire-damaged communities across the state unveiled eight bills (six of which have already been introduced) and two additional legislative proposals-all designed to strengthen consumer protections for wildfire survivors making insurance claims who struggle to recover, rebuild, and move forward. Commissioner Jones and Senators Mike McGuire and Bill Dodd and Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Jim Wood, Monique Limón and Marc Levin announced the Wildfire Survivors Insurance Recovery bills today. 

"Californians whose homes have been destroyed totally or partially by wildfires should not get hung up in insurer red tape when trying to put their lives back together," said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "Our Wildfire Survivors Insurance Recovery legislative package strengthens the laws protecting wildfire survivors in the insurance claims process and will improve their chances for recovery." 

The unprecedented fires of 2017, including the North Bay fires that destroyed and damaged 21,000 homes, have underscored the challenges homeowners face when trying to navigate the insurance claims process. 

Jones and his legislative colleagues have met with fire survivors across the state and have heard first-hand the challenges they are facing to obtain their insurance benefits. The struggles that fire survivors are facing under existing law led Jones to direct the Department of Insurance to develop a package of proposed statutory changes to strengthen the law. 
Source: CPRB