AB 1797: Residential property insurance.

Existing law requires a named insured on a residential property insurance policy be provided with a copy of the California Residential Property Insurance Disclosure which sets forth a description of certain types of insurance coverage, such as actual cash value coverage and guaranteed replacement cost coverage, as specified. Existing law also requires every California Residential Property Insurance Disclosure be accompanied by a California Residential Property Insurance Bill of Rights.

This bill would require an insurer that provides replacement cost coverage to provide, on an every other year basis, at the time an offer to renew a policy of residential property insurance is made to the policyholder, an estimate of the cost necessary to rebuild or replace the insured structure that complies with specified existing regulations. The bill would exempt an insurer from this requirement if either the policyholder has requested, within the 2 years prior to the offer to renew the policy, and the insurer has provided, coverage limits greater than the previous limits that the policyholder had selected, or if the insurer has made specified offers to the policyholder. The bill would state its provisions are not intended to change existing law with respect to the duty of a policyholder or applicant to select the coverage limits for a policy of residential property insurance. The bills provisions would become operative July 1, 2019.