By Stephen Hobbs, SACRAMENTO BEE
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article314523691.html
A southern California legislator, with the backing of Insurance Commission Ricardo Lara, is looking to bring changes to the state’s backup home insurance provider.
The bill, dubbed the “Make It FAIR Act,” would require the California FAIR Plan to hire more staff to manage claims and issue a more comprehensive coverage option, and other changes, according to a news release from the Department of Insurance .
Currently, the plan offers fire coverage for properties, no matter their risk. But homeowners who want additional coverage need to use a second policy. The department has already tried to force the plan to expand its coverage offerings, but that demand is pending in court.
“The California FAIR Plan is our property insurance safety net and we need this association to work for all Californians,” Assemblymember Lisa Calderon , D-Whittier, who introduced the bill Monday, said in a statement.
The FAIR Plan did not respond to a request for comment by Monday afternoon. Consumer WatchdogPresident Jamie Court released a statement opposing the bill, saying it was the wrong way to stabilize the insurance market and would let insurers off the hook.
“A state-run wildfire fund could let the insurers walk away holding the decades’ worth of surplus and reserves taken from policyholders, while dumping future long-tail liability,” Court wrote.
The state-created plan is funded by companies that provide homeowners insurance in the state. It has seen rapid growth in recent years as companies have restricted and not renewed customers following decimating wildfires.
The plan reached 668,600 policies in December, more than double what it had in the summer of 2022.
The news release said a recent department review had “revealed systemic problems that have left wildfire survivors struggling with delays, denials, and inconsistent claims decisions, particularly after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.”
The plan has handled about 5,400 claims related to last year’s decimating fires in Southern California and had paid out roughly $3.5 billion to policyholders.
Lara, in a statement, said of the proposal: “The Make It FAIR Act turns years of our work into enforceable requirements, so the FAIR Plan finally delivers real coverage, real accountability, and real help for wildfire survivors.”
Calderon is the chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee , which last week held a hearing on the plan where FAIR Plan President Victoria Roach appeared before its members.
Calderon did not mention the proposal.
The news release said the bill would also require the plan to produce an annual report and come up with formal financial plans to prepare for future wildfires.
The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Kate Wolffe contributed to this story.