Insurance companies prohibited from dropping customers in SoCal fire zones for 1 year

For years, Southern Californians have complained about being dropped by their insurance companies, for seemingly no other reason than because they live in areas prone to wildfires.

But it's something that around 750,000 people who live in the areas affected by the recent Airport, Bridge and Line fires won't have to worry about for another year, thanks to a moratorium announced Thursday by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

The decision will shield those living within the perimeters or adjoining zip codes of the fires from insurance non-renewal or cancellation for one year from the date of the governor's emergency declarations, regardless of whether they suffered a loss.

The moratorium will last for 12 months from the date of the declaration of emergency.

"It's temporary, but it's important because so many people have been dropped," said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller.

"If you've just been through an ordeal like hundreds of thousands of people have in Southern California, or had to evacuate your home, the last thing you should be thinking about is, 'Am I going to have insurance?'"

Most insurance companies won't even write policies for residents in mountain communities, leaving many of them forced to obtain insurance through the California FAIR plan, which provides basic fire insurance coverage for residents unable to obtain coverage from traditional insurance companies.

News of the moratorium is being met with relief for people like Lake Elsinore resident Kim Cousins, whose home was not only in the path of the Airport Fire, but the Holy Fire that burned in 2018.

"I think it's a Hallelujah statement, because for us, we've run out of resources," said Cousins, who says he's never filed a claim but is now on his fourth different insurance company.

"Everybody in our homeowner's association and that loop has been canceled over the last two decades," he said. "So, it becomes very problematic trying to find an insurance company, so we all shared knowledge on what the insurance companies were still rating. After this last event, we were certainly expecting that we're all going to get letters in the mail."

That could still happen - just not for another year.

For more information on the moratorium, click here.