Drive for Second Harvest • Thanksgiving Benefit Yoga Class State Protects CZU Homeowners, By Jondi Gumz

from Aptos Times: November 15, 2020

Supervisor Color Is Not Black And White, By Tony Tomeo

COMMUNITY NEWS State Protects CZU Homeowners

By Jondi Gumz

On Nov. 5, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered a one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing or cancelling residential property insurance policies, helping 2.1 million policyholders — 18 percent of California’s residential insurance market — affected by the record 2020 wildfire season.

The moratorium applies to policies in ZIP codes located within or adjacent to recent wildfire disasters under Senate Bill 824, also known as the 2018 Wildfire Safety and Recovery Act.

For the CZU lightning fire, this includes: Ben Lomond 95005, Bonny Doon and Santa Cruz 95060, Boulder Creek 95006, Brookdale 95007, Davenport 95017, Felton 95018, Mount Hermon 95041, Santa Cruz 95062 and 95065, UC Santa Cruz 95064, Scotts Valley 95066.

There is no protection from nonrenewal for Aptos, Soquel, Watsonville or Capitola.

To see if their ZIP code is included in the moratorium, consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website insurance.ca.gov.

The moratorium was announced after Lara held the first investigatory hearing on wildfires and homeowner insurance availability on Oct. 19, attended by more than 500 homeowners, first responders, advocates, and insurance representatives. A replay of the hearing is available at insurance.ca.gov.

Lara plans a second virtual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 10, regarding potential administrative and regulatory changes to incentivize home-hardening and discuss models based in fire science to protect lives and property.

Home hardening means clearing pine needles and dry leaves from the roof, gutters, gables, eaves, windows, doors, siding, to five feet around the structure, removing flammable plants and shrubs near windows and tree branches that overhang your roof, and moving wood piles at least 100 feet from the home.

“Losing your insurance should be the last thing on someone’s mind after surviving a devastating fire,” said Commissioner Lara. “My action gives millions of Californians breathing room and hits the pause button on insurance non-renewals while we take additional steps to expand our competitive market.”

He added, “If we don’t want to be in this position every year, we have to reduce the risk to lives and homes, which means everyone plays a part — homeowners and state and local governments through home-hardening, the federal government though forest management, and the insurance industry working as a partner.”

His order implements a law that he wrote in 2018 while a state senator to protect to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire disaster — who did not suffer a total loss — from non-renewal.

This is the second time he’s ordered a moratorium. After last year’s wildfire emergencies, he invoked the law in December 2019 to protect more than 1 million policyholders.

Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, commended the moratorium, saying, “In the aftermath of 2020’s devastating wildfires, and after struggling to feel safe again, residents in and near the impacted communities are now fearing they’ll be dropped when their policies come up for renewal.”

Douglas Heller, California-based insurance expert for the Consumer Federation of America, added, “This moratorium ensures that families whose homes survived the flames do not lose their homes because insurers refuse to continue their coverage. With insurance, we pay year after year even though we hope never to need it, and California law helps make it a fair deal by saying that insurers cannot suddenly drop us just because a fire got close.”

He said it’s clear work is needed to reduce the risk that wildfires pose to communities in California. n •••

For those who lost their homes in the CZU lightning fire and are having difficulty with their insurer, Lara recommends calling the consumer hotline at his office for help, 1-800-927-4357.