California homeowners dropped by insurance providers get temporary reprieve
OAKLAND, Calif. - Some California homeowners who've been dropped by their insurance providers this year will get a reprieve.
The state's insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, announced a one-year moratorium on dropping policies because of wildfire risks.
As of Thursday and for the next year, insurance companies can no longer drop you as a customer, if you live in an area considered to be "high-risk" for wildfires.
The moratorium applies to people in 98 zip codes across the state - about 800,000 homeowners - who were impacted by seven major wildfires this year, including the Kincade Fire in Northern California and the Getty and Tick fires in Southern California. The companies must renew your policy until at least December 2020 and there could be other changes in insurance law after that.
Lara said he wants homeowners’ insurance companies to come to the table and negotiate a longer-term solution during the moratorium.
“A year from now, I want to make sure that homeowners who harden their homes are guaranteed coverage,” he said. “We're seeing a new appetite in the Legislature to address this issue.”
Getting dropped unexpectedly from homeowners insurance coverage is a problem that happens not just in places struck by recent wildfires, but in urban and suburban areas that haven't had a major wildfire in decades.
“Almost every year we've been dropped,” said Sean Coffey of Oakland. “It's been a real challenge
Lara said that the implications of getting dropped are huge.
"If you can't find insurance for your home, you can't sell your home,” he said. “That lessens the property value."
Here is a list of the zip codes that will benefit from the insurance commissioner’s mandate:
Eagle Fire
95423, 95422, 95451, 95493, 95458, 95987, 95464, 95485, 95979, 95443
Getty Fire
90049, 90025, 90024, 90272, 90403, 91403, 91436, 90402, 90077, 90095, 90073
Hill Fire
92509, 92504, 92324, 92505, 91752, 92337, 92316, 92501
Kincaid Fire
95404, 95403, 95492, 95448, 95425, 94515, 95461, 95441, 94928, 95409, 95401, 95407, 95405, 95451, 94574, 95446, 95436, 95467, 94951, 95442, 95445, 95457, 94508, 95421, 95452, 95449, 94567, 95439, 94576
Maria Fire
93060, 93066, 93003, 93010, 93012, 93021, 93001, 93036, 93004, 93023, 93015, 93022
Saddle Ridge Fire
91342, 91344, 91326, 91311, 91321, 91381, 93063, 91331, 91350, 91355, 91387, 91304, 91354, 91343, 91306, 91351, 91352, 91325, 91042, 91324, 91040, 91384, 91340, 91390, 91345, 93015, 93510, 93040, 91330
Tick Fire
91387, 91351, 91390, 91342, 93551, 91350, 91354, 91321, 91384, 93510, 93532