AB 2038: Residential property insurance: cancellations and nonrenewals.

Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including residential property insurance. Existing law requires an insurer, in the case of a total loss to the primary insured structure under a policy of residential property insurance, for at least the next two annual renewal periods, but no less than 24 months of coverage from the date of the loss, to renew the policy under certain circumstances, including that the total loss to the primary insured structure was caused by a disaster. Existing law prohibits an insurer from canceling or refusing to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in a ZIP Code within or adjacent to a fire perimeter for one year after the declaration of a state of emergency, if the cancellation or nonrenewal is based solely on the fact that the insured structure is located in an area in which a wildfire has occurred.

This bill would instead require an insurer to renew the policy of residential property insurance, under the above-described circumstances, for at least the next three annual renewal periods, but no less than 36 months of coverage from the date of the loss. The bill would also prohibit an insurer from canceling or refusing to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in a ZIP Code within or adjacent to a fire perimeter for two years after the declaration of a state of emergency.