Sacramento – Senator Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), chair of the California State Senate Insurance Committee, and Assembly Member Tom Daly (D-Anaheim), chair of the California State Assembly Insurance Committee, will hold a joint hearing on Tuesday October 30th at 10:00 a.m. to examine whether homeowners’ insurance coverage has effectively allowed those affected by recent wildfires to rebuild.
“The recent wildfires throughout California have raised some important questions about the adequacy of insurance coverage,” Glazer said.
“I hope this hearing will help answer some important follow-up questions,” Glazer said. “Are homeowners getting enough insurance coverage to allow them to get their lives back together? Are there public policy roadblocks that limit the responsiveness in the rebuilding process by local governments and insurance companies? Do ‘replacement’ cost policies provide enough coverage to rebuild when the labor and materials market gyrate wildly after big disasters?”
Assembly Member Daly said: “This hearing will be a good opportunity for us to hear from some of the communities that suffered losses in last year’s fires. Learning from their experience is invaluable as we work to find ways to better help California homeowners prepare for major wildfires.”
A trio of wildfires in the North Bay destroyed almost 8,000 structures, more than any other year on record. The hearing will include testimony from insurance experts, consumer advocates, and local officials, as well as a researcher from California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment. Testimony will focus on insurance-related issues that arise during rebuilding efforts and whether standard insurance coverage appropriately serves homeowners.
Senator Bill Dodd, (D-Napa), who represents Napa and Sonoma Counties, will join committee members at this hearing.
“Destructive wildfires have ravaged California and the North Bay, revealing insurance-related issues that directly and negatively affect many survivors,” Dodd said. “With the frequency of such events likely to continue due to climate change, we must identify the problems and find solutions that allow our communities to be rebuilt.”
The hearing comes at an important time, said Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters).
“We’re aggressively enacting fire prevention measures, but we can’t legislate how nature behaves. Adjusting to climate change also means adjusting the ways our people can restore their lives to some normalcy when disasters occur,” said Aguiar-Curry, who represents parts of Napa. “This hearing is a critical opportunity for our legislature to hear from wildfire survivors and recovery experts on how to adjust public policy to protect our constituents, their homes and businesses.”
Members of the public will be invited to offer comments after the witnesses testify.
- What: Joint Hearing of the Senate and Assembly Insurance Committees
- When: Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 10:00 a.m. to noon
- Where: Napa Valley College, McPherson Building, 2277 Napa-Vallejo Highway, Napa
