Mandatory One Year Moratorium on Non-Renewals
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, while serving as state senator, authored Senate Bill 824 (2018). This important consumer protection law requires a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies canceling or non-renewing residential insurance policies in certain areas within or adjacent to a fire perimeter after a declared state of emergency is issued by the Governor.
“Losing your insurance should be the last thing on someone’s mind after surviving a devastating fire,” said Commissioner Lara. “This law gives millions of Californians breathing room and hits the pause button on insurance non-renewals while people recover.”
How the moratorium works
Following a Governor declaration of a state of emergency, the Department of Insurance partners with CAL-FIRE and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to identify wildfire perimeters and adjacent ZIP codes within the mandatory moratorium areas. The protection from cancellation or non-renewal lasts for one year from the date of the Governor’s emergency declaration.
This one-year protection applies to all residential policyholders within the affected areas who suffer less than a total loss, including those who suffer no loss. Those who suffer a total loss have additional protections under the law.
Find out if you are protected
Commissioner Lara has implemented the new law following wildfires in 2019, 2020, and 2021. If you live near one of these fires, find the fire name in the list below and click the link to open the Commissioner’s Bulletin for a list of included ZIP codes. If you live in one of those ZIP codes, your insurance company cannot issue a cancellation or non-renewal for wildfire risk for one year from the date of the Governor’s emergency declaration associated with the nearby fire. Below is a list of fires for which Bulletins have been issued since the passage of this new law as well as the Pre-Bulletin Notices for the 2021 fires. The Department continues to coordinate with CalFire and CalOES to identify the various fire and fire perimeters that are subject to the one-year moratorium for the 2021 fires.
If your ZIP code is included in the moratorium and you received a notice of cancellation or non-renewal for wildfire risk, you should contact your insurance company to seek a reinstatement of the policy. If your insurance company refuses, you are encouraged to contact us and file a Request for Assistance.
Is My Zip Code Included in the Moratorium?
2024 Wildfires
- Sepember 29, 2024 Declaration (Boyles Fire in Lake County)
- September 11, 2024 Declaration (Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside Counties; Bridge Fire in Los Angeles and San Bernadino Counties)
- September 7, 2024 Declaration (Line Fire in San Bernadino County)
- July 30, 2024 Declaration (Borel Fire in Kern County)
- July 26, 2024 Declaration (Gold Complex Fire in Plumas County and Park Fire in Butte and Tehama Counties)
- July 3, 2024 Declaration (Thompson Fire in Butte County)
2023 Wildfires
- August 29, 2023 Declaration (Smith River and Happy Camp Complex Fires)
2022 Wildfires
- November 19, 2022 Declaration (Route Fire)
- September 19, 2022 Declaration (Mountain, Barnes and Fork Fires)
- September 8, 2022 Declaration (Fairview and Mosquito Fires)
- September 2, 2022 Declaration (Mill Fire)
- July 30, 2022 Declaration (McKinney and China 2 Fires)
- July 23, 2022 Declaration (Oak Fire)
- July 1, 2022 Declaration (Alisal & Colorado Fires)
2021 Wildfires
- July 16, 2021 Declaration (Lava & Beckwourth Complex Fires including Dotta and Sugar)
- July 23, 2021 Declaration (Dixie, Fly and Tamarack Fires)
- August 5, 2021 Declaration (Antelope and River Fires)
- August 10, 2021 Declaration (McFarland, Monument and Dixie Fires)
- August 17, 2021 Declaration (Caldor Fire in El Dorado County)
- August 30, 2021 Declaration (Caldor Fire in Alpine, Amador and Placer Counties)
- September 7, 2021 Declaration (Cache Fire)
- September 27, 2021 Declaration (Fawn Fire in Shasta County)
- October 22, 2021 Declaration (River Complex, French, Washington, Windy, Colony, Paradise and the Hopkins Fires)
2020 Wildfires
- August 18, 2020 Declaration (W-5 Cold Springs; Sheep; Moraine; SQF Complex; Coyote; Volcano; Moc; Flint; Dolan; Butte, Tehama, Glenn Lightning Complex; North Complex; Creek; Salt; 3-19; Woodward; Carmel; Bell; BlueJay; SHF Lightning; Red Salmon Complex; SCU Lightning Complex; Murphy; Holser; 4-8; Beach; Jones; LNU Lightning Complex; August Complex; River; CZU Lightning Complex; Hills; Whale; and Loyalton Fires)
- September 6, 2020 Declaration (Creek, El Dorado and Valley Fires)
- September 10, 2020 Declaration (Slater Fire including Devil, Schoolhouse, Shackleford and Fox Fires)
- September 25, 2020 Declaration [Bobcat; Oak; and Slater (Del Norte County) Fires]
- September 28, 2020 Declaration (Glass and Zogg Fires)
- November 18, 2020 Declaration (Mountain View Fire)
2019 Wildfires
- October 11, 2019 Declaration (Sadderidge, Eagle, Sandalwood, Reche, & Wolf Fires)
- October 25, 2019 Declaration (Kincade and Tick Fires)
- October 27, 2019 Declaration (Getty, Hill, Old Water, 46, Hillside, Easy, Maria, Sky and Glen Cove Fires)
