The Assembly Insurance Committee advanced SB 1301 on June 24 after hearing testimony from fire survivors and consumer advocates who said homeowners can spend money on repairs or mitigation and still lose coverage.
The bill, carried by Sen. Steven Bradford Allen, would require more specific non-renewal notices from property insurers and give policyholders a chance to fix cited problems before coverage ends, according to the committee summary. The measure was amended before moving ahead.
Magda Molina told the committee she and her husband borrowed money for about $8,000 in roof mitigation work after their insurer asked for it, only to be non-renewed anyway, the hearing summary says. Other supporters included representatives from the California Nurses Association, AARP, the California Low Income Consumer Coalition, the League of California Cities, California Environmental Voters and several fire survivor and community groups.
Industry groups that had objected to earlier versions of the bill moved to neutral after negotiations, though some still raised concerns about implementation and proprietary information, according to the committee summary.
The committee action keeps SB 1301 alive as a legislative fight over how much detail insurers must give before dropping a policy, particularly in wildfire-exposed parts of California.
