Daily California P&C Insurance Briefing

Key developments affecting California property & casualty insurers, agents, and policyholders.

California Property Insurance & Wildfire Risk

Make It FAIR Act Aims to Overhaul California FAIR Plan for Wildfire Survivors

California Department of Insurance · February 2026

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Assemblymember Lisa Calderon introduced the Make It FAIR Act to strengthen claims handling, expand coverage options, and increase transparency at the California FAIR Plan for wildfire survivors.[1]

The bill responds to findings that the FAIR Plan failed to comply with key financial and consumer protection recommendations, and it pushes the plan toward more comprehensive homeowners coverage similar to private insurers.[1]

Proposed Disaster Recovery Reform Act Would Tighten Claims Rules in Emergencies

Insurance Journal · January 7, 2026

Senate Bill 876, backed by Commissioner Ricardo Lara, would require insurers in California to maintain disaster recovery plans for handling claims, expand additional living expense limits, and double penalties for fair claims handling violations during declared emergencies.[2]

The proposal is aimed at speeding up payouts and strengthening replacement cost and building-code upgrade coverage for homeowners and renters after large-scale wildfires.[2][5]

New 2026 California Insurance Laws Target Wildfire Safety and Transparency

KQED · January 3, 2026

A suite of California laws effective January 1, 2026, enhances property insurance protections by promoting wildfire mitigation, easing documentation burdens for total losses, and expanding oversight of the state’s FAIR Plan.[3]

Measures include eliminating detailed contents lists for many wildfire claims, creating the California Safe Homes Grant Program, extending non‑renewal protections to businesses, and adding legislative oversight to the FAIR Plan board.[3]

California Lawmakers Advance New Fire Insurance Bills to Aid Survivors

CalMatters · January 2026

In response to ongoing struggles among wildfire survivors, new California bills backed by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Senate Insurance Chair Steve Padilla seek to boost additional living expense limits, accelerate cash-value payments, and strengthen replacement cost coverage.[5]

The legislation also would require insurers to apply building-code upgrade coverage at the time of rebuild, aiming to reduce gaps between policy limits and post-disaster rebuilding costs.[5]

California’s Fragile Property Insurance Market Tested by January Wildfires

PropertyCasualty360 · January 13, 2026

A year-in-review of California’s insurance market notes that January wildfires pushed an already fragile property sector to the brink, with billions in losses and shrinking private capacity in high-risk regions.[9]

The article highlights growing reliance on the FAIR Plan, rate and underwriting pressure on carriers, and the tension between consumer protection efforts and insurers’ appetite for California catastrophe exposure.[9][4]

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or insurance advice.