Proposal outlines insurance 'bill of rights'

A consumer group's plan seeks to shield Californians who face losing coverage.

- BY LAURENCE DARMIENTO

WILLIAM HARRIS surveys damage to his Altadena home after the Eaton fire in January. Insurers have been pulling back in California.

(CHRISTINA HOUSE Los Angeles Times)

A leading consumer group is proposing a policyholder rights initiative that would require insurers to offer coverage to California homeowners who fireproof their homes — or lose the right to sell home or auto insurance in the state for five years.

The Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights was filed with state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office last week by Consumer Watchdog, the Los Angeles advocacy group whose founder Harvey Rosenfield authored Proposition 103, the 1988 initiative that governs California insurance law.

The initiative for the November 2026 ballot also would give policyholders not renewed by their insurer 180 days to make home repairs and improvements necessary for renewal if they face unavoidable permit, construction and other delays.

"The Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights guarantees that people who invest in wildfire mitigation get coverage and prevents companies from canceling people simply because they file a claim," Rosenfield said in a statement.

Insurers can seek six-month waivers of the rule in certain geographic areas but would need to show they have an overconcentration of risk there.