2017 Railroad Fire in Madera and Mariposa Counties
Credit: Madera County Sheriff's Office
May 3, 2018 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced that two bills he sponsored which are designed to help prevent homeowners from being underinsured when disaster strikes passed the Assembly Insurance Committee Wednesday with a unanimous, bipartisan vote. Assembly Bill 1797 (Levine) and Assembly Bill 1875 (Wood) will help homeowners avoid being underinsured-a terrible problem faced by many survivors of the 2017 fires.
AB 1797 would require insurers to either provide a policyholder with a full replacement cost estimate every other year or apply an inflation factor to the dwelling limit at each renewal and clearly offer the consumer the option to obtain a full replacement cost estimate.
AB 1875 addresses confusion surrounding extended replacement cost coverage (ERC). Almost all insurance companies offer ERC, which allows property owners to purchase limits above the replacement cost policy limits, which are typically based upon the insurance company's estimated cost of replacement. However, those ERC limits can vary dramatically from the low of a 20 percent option to higher options of 50, 75, or 100 percent. Many consumers are never provided these options by insurers nor are they told how the coverage options, if available, would impact their premiums. AB 1875 would require an insurer who does not provide at least 50 percent ERC to help direct the consumer to an insurer that does. This will give consumers reasonable options against underinsurance.
Source: CPRB