The California Insurance Commissioner published a bulletin declaring a moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals of eligible residential property insurance policies following the Shelly and Bear fires.
California Governor Gavin Newson declared a state of emergency on November 1, 2024, in Siskiyou and Sierra counties, following the fires. Per California Statutes, this gives the Insurance Commissioner the power to declare a moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals of residential property insurance policies.
Residential property insurance policies include homeowners, condo unit owners, mobile homeowners, and residential renters policies.
Insurers cannot cancel or nonrenew a residential property insurance policy for a property located within an affected ZIP code or adjacent to the fire perimeter. The moratorium will be in place for one year after the Governor's state of emergency order (November 1, 2024).
The applicable ZIP codes are as follows:
- Shelly Fire: 95543, 95556, 95568, 96014, 96027, 96031, 96032, 96034, 96037, 96039, 96050, 96085, 96086, 96097
- Bear Fire: 95728, 96111, 96118, 96122, 96124, 96126
The bulletin can be found here.