State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Pacific Palisades, has advanced two bills aimed at protecting insurance ratepayers from losing coverage unnecessarily or being harmed by bad business practices. Both now head to Gov. Newsom.
"California ratepayers have faced an increasingly difficult insurance market, with rising premiums and fewer options available to them in the face of increasing disaster risk," Allen said. "Working families need better protections to maintain their existing policies and ensure businesses are operating in a manner that best serves them."
California has recorded the fourth-highest rate of insurance nonrenewals in the nation, contributing to a 250% increase in the FAIR Plan's total exposure since 2022. Notices often fail to explain why a policyholder is being dropped, and some have been dropped for faulty reasons, such as claims of mold or algae on a roof that never existed.
SB 1301 requires nonrenewal notices to include the reasoning behind the decision and to give policyholders a path to fix the identified risk and keep their coverage. It also requires insurers to send notice 90 days before a policy expires, allowing time to remediate or shop for a new policy before relying on the FAIR Plan. The detail requirements also give policyholders grounds to contest a nonrenewal.
The Department of Insurance conducts routine market examinations to verify insurers operate fairly and legally, issuing reports that identify corrective actions. While most insurers comply voluntarily, there is no clear tool to require it. A 2025 examination of the FAIR Plan found it had implemented less than half the recommendations from a 2022 report, contributing to failures in serving policyholders after the 2025 Los Angeles fires.
SB 1209 expands the department's authority by authorizing penalties of up to $20,000 per violation, decided through a formal hearing process.
"When insurance companies break the rules, policyholders pay the price. SB 1209 closes the enforcement loop by holding insurers to strict, non-negotiable timelines to fix systemic violations," Insurance Commissioner Lara said. "Partnering with Senator Ben Allen on this bill ensures the Department isn't just identifying bad practices, we're stopping them before consumers suffer."
Newsom has until Sept. 30 to act on the bills.
Edited by SMDP Staff