California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara published a bulletin declaring a moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals of eligible residential property insurance policies following the Gifford Fire.

On December 23, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Kern, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. This gave the Insurance Commissioner the power to declare a moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals of residential property insurance policies, per California statutes.

As a result, insurers cannot cancel or nonrenew a residential property insurance policy due to wildfire risk for a property located within 29 affected or adjoining ZIP codes. Residential property insurance policies include homeowners, condo unit owners, mobilehomeowners, and residential renters policies.

The moratorium will be in place for one year after the Governor's state of emergency order on December 23, 2025. Insureds can search if their ZIP code is included in the moratorium on the Department website.

The bulletin can be found here.