California Issues Mandatory Moratorium on Cancellations and Non-Renewals of Policies of Residential Property Insurance After the Declaration of a State of Emergency

California Issues Mandatory Moratorium on Cancellations and Non-Renewals of Policies of Residential Property Insurance After the Declaration of a State of Emergency

On November 5th the California Department of Insurance issued Bulletin 2020-11, Mandatory Moratorium on Cancellations and Non-Renewals of Policies of Residential Property Insurance After the Declaration of a State of Emergency. The moratorium order implements Senate Bill 824, effective January 1, 2019, which provides that an insurer shall not cancel or refuse to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in any ZIP Code within or adjacent to the fire perimeter, for one year after the declaration of a state of emergency as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code, based solely on the fact that the insured structure is located in an area in which a wildfire has occurred. The bulletin provides the dates of the declarations of a state of emergency and the ZIP Codes affected.

On November 6th, the department issued an amendment to bulletin 2020-11 (link below) that provides additional information regarding ZIP Codes within or adjacent to the fire perimeters for the fires identified in the Governor’s various Emergency Declarations.

Any insurer with questions regarding this bulletin, please contact: Risa Salat-Kolm, Attorney III, Legal Division - Enforcement Bureau

 

 

Link to Bulletin