LA wild fires
A new California bill aims to be the first in the nation to establish public health and insurance claims standards for smoke-damaged homes.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Assemblymember Mike Gipson introduced AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, yesterday.
The act would establish science-based standards for the inspection, testing and restoration of smoke-damaged homes. It would also create uniform insurance claims-handling practices for insurers, including required restoration protocols.
"Smoke contamination has left families uncertain about whether it's safe to return home, parents worried about their children's health, older residents displaced from their homes and entire communities caught in limbo," Gipson said in a statement. "AB 1795 gives survivors what they have been pleading for: real standards, real protections and real urgency. Strong, science-based rules are the only way to ensure families get a fair and safe path back home."
Even as wildfires have become more severe in many states, there are currently no state or national standards for testing, cleaning or restoring homes contaminated by wildfire smoke.
Following the LA wildfires, the California Department of Insurance is investigating hundreds of consumer complaints related to smoke damage claims. It has also taken enforcement action against the state's FAIR Plan for improper smoke-claim denials.
An early-action provision in the act would take aim at delays and disputes over LA wildfire victim's smoke-damage claims. If a state or local health or environmental agency issues specific standards for interior smoke testing, screening levels or restoration, the provision would allow survivors to use those standards to immediately support and expedite insurance claims — without waiting for state standards to be established.
The department's newly established Smoke Claims & Remediation Task Force, which includes members of CAL FIRE, public health experts, restoration specialists and wildfire survivors, will help inform the smoke-damage standards.
"Wildfire survivors are being told to return to homes coated in toxic residue and that is unacceptable," Lara said in a statement. "This is not just an insurance dispute; it is a public health emergency. Families cannot wait for long processes or conflicting opinions. They need clear standards and real protection now."
Photo credit: Kyle/Adobe Stock
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