California Commissioner Orders Insurance Cancelation Moratorium for 185K Residents

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 185,000 policyholders affected by the Park, Borel and Gold Complex fires.

The moratorium shields those living within the perimeters or adjoining ZIP Codes of these fires from insurance non-renewal or cancellation for one year from the date of the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declarations regardless of whether they suffered a loss.

The order protects more than 185,000 policyholders for one year for the fires.

Consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website to see if their ZIP Code is included in the moratorium.

The Park Fire is now the state’s fourth largest on record. It is now 427,067 acres and is 34% contained, and it covers four counties— Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama. The fire has destroyed 636 structures and damaged 49 structures.

The Park Fire started on July 24. A Chico man accused of setting the fire by pushing a flaming vehicle into a grassy area was arrested, and he has said it was an accident.

July and now August have been active for wildfires. According to CalFire, 4,946 wildfires have burned 805,096 acres so far this year, and 1,165 structures have been reported damaged or destroyed.

The Park Fire is fourth on the list of largest fires in California, passing the Creek Fire in 2020 in Fresno County at 379,895 acres and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire in 2020 at 396,625 acres. The Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018 at 459,123 acres is third on the list, the Dixie Fire in 2021 at 963,309 acres was second on the list and the August Complex Fire in 2020 at more than 1 million acres was the state’s largest wildfire.

Nine of the top 10 largest wildfires in the state have occurred after 2017, according to CalFire.

Top photo: Park Fire in California. Source: CalFire.

Topics California