After the January fires that destroyed thousands of residences, victims who lost their clothing, furniture and other possessions faced a daunting task: creating a list of itemized losses to submit to their insurers \u2014 typically without records to rely on.<\/p>\n
While existing law paid policyholders who suffered total losses as much as $250,000 up front using a formula based on 30% of their dwelling coverage, getting additional money could be overwhelming for victims already dealing with one of the most catastrophic events anyone can suffer.<\/p>\n
Now, under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, fire victims whose residences burned down can get 60% of their personal property coverage up to $350,000 without first submitting what is euphemistically called \u201cThe List. \u201c The law also extends the time for filing itemized claims<\/a> to at least 100 days, up from just two months.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s been nine months since these firestorms struck Los Angeles, the destruction and devastation left behind is still fresh for thousands of survivors and remains a constant reminder that we have more to do to support our fellow Californians,\u201d Newsom said in a statement, which accompanied his signature on a bipartisan package of fire-related legislation <\/a>that included the itemization bill.<\/p>\n The legislation, Senate Bill 495,<\/a> was backed by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and authored by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Pacific Palisades), whose district includes the Palisades fire zone. It originally called for policyholders suffering total losses to get 100% of their personal property coverage limits up front, but it was opposed by the insurance industry and amended.<\/p>\n The new legislation, like the prior law, only applies in situations where a state of emergency has been declared, which typically occurs after a catastrophic fire. It goes into effect in January.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recent L.A. fires exposed difficult inefficiencies in our insurance system that unnecessarily delay the urgently needed financial support survivors are justly due,\u201d Allen said in a statement.<\/p>\n Newsom also signed Senate Bill 429<\/a> funding the nation\u2019s first public wildfire catastrophe model, which will be a benchmark for proprietary computer models insurance companies are now using to simulate the damage and potential losses from wildfires and other big disasters.<\/p>\n Under Proposition 103, which regulates the state\u2019s home insurance market, insurers have had to set their premium rates based on historic fire losses. However, there is a growing consensus that climate change has heightened wildfire risks, as evidenced by a growing number of catastrophic blazes California has suffered over the last decade.<\/p>\n Last year, Lara enacted regulations that allow for the private computer models to be used in rate setting, but required that steps be taken to develop a public model since the programs insurers use employ propriety algorithms and data that limit knowledge of how they work.<\/p>\n