I couldn’t believe the text I got on Sunday that said Governor Newsom had vetoed two bills that grew out of fire survivors’ fight to get the insurance benefits they are owed.
SB 877 and SB 878, bills authored by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez representing the Eaton fire area, changed insurance claims-handling practices to help wildfire survivors and all Californians get the insurance benefits they paid for faster. We sponsored them with Every Fire Survivor’s Network after listening to hundreds of survivors share their frustrations with insurance claims not getting paid.
The bills passed the legislature with bipartisan support and no opposition. So why the vetoes? As the CalMatters headline asks: “Newsom vetoes insurance-claim bills: Is it ‘petty’ politics? (opens in new tab)”
Consumer Watchdog and Every Fire Survivor’s Network loudly and publicly led opposition to an effort by the governor last month to limit for-profit utilities’ liability for fires they cause. In a rare move, lawmakers bucked the governor and refused to support his utility bailout plan to take away wildfire victims’ rights to recover. We protected survivors’ rights, but it should not have cost us insurance accountability.
Please watch the video (opens in new tab) and share.
SB 877 and 878 would have given wildfire survivors critical new rights to hold insurance companies to their end of the deal. The vetoes (opens in new tab) look like reprisal for standing up against the bailout. Shame on Governor Newsom.
There is a silver lining. Senator Ben Allen’s SB 1301, also sponsored by Consumer Watchdog and Every Fire Survivor’s Network, WAS signed into law! It will help Californians keep the home insurance they have by giving more notice of nonrenewals and time to fix things to stay insured.
Please watch the video (opens in new tab) and share.
Over a million Californians have been dumped onto the last-resort FAIR Plan or with insurers exempt from state insurance oversight. This new law will help people keep their regular insurance. It requires 90-days notice before losing coverage, specific disclosure of why you are being dropped, and makes insurers say if any home repairs or changes would let you keep your insurance 120 days before dropping you. It also bars nonrenewals only because of the age of a roof, or because you filed certain prior claims.
Countless homeowners wrote letters or showed up to support these bills, and oppose the bailout. We aren’t giving up on helping consumers get their claims paid, and the utilities haven’t stopped lobbying for a bailout, so these issues will undoubtedly be back soon. But for now, we celebrate our new protections to keep families insured, and spread the word on how Governor Newsom threw over fire survivors, by sharing the two videos above.
