The California Senate is advancing a bill that would help fire victims who lost homes and find themselves under-insured. Senators yesterday passed SB 894 that would apply retroactively to July 1st, 2017, and would also require insurers to report to the State Insurance Commissioner if they refuse to renew a policy. The bill, authored by Democratic Senators Bill Dodd of Napa, is now on its way to the State Assembly.
The other bill by Healdsburg’s Mike McGuire is up for its third reading on the senate floor today. SB 897 would require insurers to pay 80 percent of the limit of a policyholder’s personal property coverage with no requirement for a written inventory. The insurance industry opposes both bills, mostly because they would apply retroactively to include the October wildfires.