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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-10</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Gipson</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act relating to insurance.</ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>insurance</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>Fire insurance: residential property.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including fire insurance. Existing law prescribes the standard form for the issuance of fire insurance policies covering property. Existing law requires all fire insurance policies to be on the standard form, with no additions to or omissions from that form, except as provided. Existing law requires this standard form to insure against, among other things, all loss by fire.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to set forth standards and protocols to ensure the health and safety of residents and for the proper handling of smoke damaged residential property insurance claims caused by wildfires, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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(a)
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The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
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(1)
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California has experienced recordbreaking wildfires in recent years, including the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire in January 2025 that damaged and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. In addition to completely destroyed homes, condominiums, and apartments, thousands of residential properties suffered damage as a result of smoke, soot, char, ash, and other contaminants.
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(2)
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Thousands of smoke damage insurance claims have been filed as a result of these fires. The lack of universally recognized standards for the testing, evaluation, and remediation of smoke damage has prompted
complaints from survivors that their insurance companies have completely or partially denied their smoke damage claims or have refused to conduct, or reimburse for, preremediation testing or postremediation clearance testing to ensure their homes have been properly remediated of smoke damage.
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(3)
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While the Department of Insurance has taken multiple executive actions to protect consumers, including issuing a bulletin to insurers reminding them of their duty to fully investigate complaints, initiating legal action against the California FAIR Plan over its failure to handle smoke damage claims within existing law, and investigating complaints from consumers, the lack of standards has caused a patchwork of claims handling practices by insurance companies.
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(4)
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Smoke, soot, char, ash, and other contaminants that emanate from wildfires cause damage to properties by depositing particulate
matter, gases, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and other pollutants onto personal property and into the walls, floors, ceilings, surfaces, and other infrastructure of a property. Those contaminants not only compromise the integrity of the premises, but they may also pose significant, long-term health issues long after the fire has been extinguished.
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(5)
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As property owners and tenants return to their properties and the areas that have been damaged or destroyed after a wildfire, many face uncertainty as to whether their properties have been properly remediated and are safe to inhabit. Residents whose properties suffer smoke damage as a result of wildfire should be assured of their safety and habitability, as well as having their personal property returned to a preloss condition.
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(6)
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It is in the best interest of Californians to protect the health and safety of residents by
ensuring that their properties are returned to a safe and habitable condition after suffering damage from wildfires, including smoke damage.
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(7)
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While all property insurance policies that cover the peril of fire also cover smoke damage resulting from fire, the extent to which insurance companies are covering the remediation of properties has been inconsistent, and many residents are concerned that they will incur significant financial burden to remediate their properties on their own.
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(8)
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While remediation of smoke damage is made more challenging due to the varying severity of smoke inundation on the exterior and interior of properties, consistent standards are vitally needed regarding the inspection, testing, and remediation of smoke damage on residential properties after a fire so that the Department of Insurance is able to enforce insurance companies’ remediation obligations
and that residential properties are rendered safe and habitable and returned to preloss condition.
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(9)
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In response to the unprecedented damage caused by the January wildfires, in June 2025, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara directed the Department of Insurance to lead a Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force (Task Force), comprised of members representing consumers, public health, environmental health, fire safety, local governments, remediation and restoration specialists, industrial hygienists, and the insurance industry, to develop recommendations for uniform standards for the inspection, testing, and remediation of smoke damage in residential properties, and to determine the extent to which the remediation of those properties should be covered by residential property insurance policies. The Task Force met over several months in 2025 and is in the process of completing its report of recommendations to the Insurance Commissioner.
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(b)
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It is the intent of the Legislature to set forth standards and protocols to ensure the health and safety of residents and for the proper handling of smoke damaged residential property insurance claims caused by wildfires after consideration of the recommendations in the Task Force Report, as well as other relevant scientific and health-based sources.
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