On August 19, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a new one-year moratorium on insurance non-renewals for areas hit by the Lava and Beckwourth Complex fires. The decision affects around 26,000 policyholders in Plumas, Lassen, and Siskiyou counties, most of whom were already protected by a prior moratorium.

The latest ban does not cover the Dixie and Caldor fires. Lara must wait until those fires’ final perimeters have been established; however, he is informally urging insurers to refrain from issuing non-renewal notices to policyholders in the vicinity of those two fires.

On a final note, Lara continues to negotiate with insurers over a future plan to sell homeowners’ policies to communities that have enacted a fire-protection plan.

We are keeping an eye on this event and will update you on its present and future impacts.