It’s Time: California Needs Science-Based Standards for Wildfire Insurance Claims

California has reached a point where the way wildfire smoke claims are handled can no longer be left to guesswork. Newly introduced Assembly Bill 1642 is an important step toward something this state should have implemented years ago: clear, science-based standards for evaluating wildfire damage inside homes.

For the past year, Palisades and Eaton wildfire victims have been told in many cases that wildfire particulate-impacted homes can simply be “cleaned.” Often, that conclusion is reached without testing, without qualified professionals, and sometimes without even involving a professional cleaning company. Homeowners are told to wipe down surfaces, air out the house, and move on. In some cases, like those policyholders with California FAIR Plan, without any payment.

That approach ignores how wildfire particulates actually behave indoors.

In many cases, homeowners ultimately hire their own licensed industrial hygienists after being told by their insurers that no real problem exists. When testing is performed, the results frequently show more than visible soot or ash. Laboratories identify lead, arsenic, and other toxic metals associated with wildfire smoke from burned infrastructure, vehicles, and treated building materials. These contaminants embed into porous materials and contents. They are not reliably removed through ordinary cleaning.

This is not a dispute about odors or aesthetics. It is a question of health, safety, and habitability.

Assembly Bill 1642 acknowledges a basic reality: wildfire claims require objective standards grounded in science. Adjuster discretion, unsupported assumptions, and cost-driven protocols are not substitutes for testing and analysis. Without clear rules, homeowners are forced to prove their homes are unsafe after the fact, often at their own expense, while insurers default to the least expensive explanation.

What is most troubling is how long it has taken for California to confront this issue. The science has existed for years. Wildfire seasons have grown longer and more destructive. Entire communities have been exposed to prolonged smoke events. Yet the state has allowed claims-handling practices to develop without meaningful oversight or uniform standards. Recent national media coverage has begun to highlight what many policyholders have already experienced firsthand. But public attention should not be what finally forces reform. California should have led on this issue long ago.

If AB 1642 passes, enforcement will matter just as much as the text of the law itself. Standards only protect homeowners if they are applied consistently and backed by regulators willing to hold insurers accountable. Without that commitment, families will continue to shoulder the burden of proving contamination that should have been evaluated properly from the start.

California has the expertise, the data, and the experience to do this correctly. It is time for wildfire insurance claims in California to be handled according to science—not assumptions.