At Monday evening’s city council meeting, council members discussed asking California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara—who is scheduled to hold a public meeting in Malibu Jan. 16—to pursue rewarding Malibu residents who have improved the fire resilience of their homes with lower insurance rates.
On Dec. 5, with the passing of Senate Bill 824, Lara issued a one-year moratorium banning insurance companies from dropping policyholders due to the state’s increased wildfire risks. Because the moratorium only applies to Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency declarations from Oct. 11–27, 2019, Malibu residents affected by the Woolsey Fire are not covered.
Council Member Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner introduced the idea of incentivizing proactive residents with lower rates, and suggested discussing the move with Lara during his visit to Malibu. Wagner also suggested drafting a letter with Malibu residents’ concerns and sending it to Newsom.
“The effort here is to help promote insurance company rate adjustments in the near future,” Wagner said.
Insurers are whacking homeowners in the 90265, Wagner said. He suggested the letter propose a grading system to rate the fire safety compliance efforts of Malibu residents, with the goal of rewarding those that have complied with lower insurance rates.
Malibu resident Scott Dietrich emphasized the importance of preventing fire damage.
“We can stop this,” Dietrich said. “So, with Commissioner Lara and Governor Newsom, we can make a difference. We need to encourage this.”
Council Member Skylar Peak asked for clarification from Wagner whether the city inspections determining a compliance grade would be mandatory for Malibu residents. Wagner clarified that they would be voluntary.
“It’s gotta be voluntary. Because if you’re into it, you’ll ask, and if you’re not into it, you’ll just take the higher rates,” Wagner said.
Peak made a motion suggesting that the council send a letter to the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan, a state-mandated program that helps insure the properties of those deemed high-risk by insurance companies. The letter would ask FAIR to look at offering discounts to homeowners in fire areas that are going above and beyond to harden their properties. Peak said it would be unfair for two homes—one with proper fire resilience measures and one without—to be charged the same amount.
Council Member Rick Mullen said he supported this measure, and that this step is vital in changing the culture of Malibu to one that prioritizes fire prevention measures.
City Manager Reva Feldman mentioned that the city could initially reach out to state officials via their lobbyists in Sacramento, California Strategies. Council members were all in favor of the initial reach-out, and agreed to follow up with Lara in person in January.
The moratorium protects policies for about 800,000 homeowners who live within or adjacent to the perimeter of one of 16 wildfires that burned across the state in October. Examples of the 16 wildfires include the Saddleridge Fire, Getty Fire and Tick Fire, among others.
According to August data released by Lara’s office and cited in the Sacramento Bee, insurance companies have refused to renew almost 350,000 policies since 2015 due to wildfire risks.
“In August of this year, the Department of Insurance published data, which shows an increasing trend of non-renewals for people at risk of wildfires,” according to the moratorium.
Newsom declared a State of Emergency for the Woolsey Fire on Nov. 8, 2018.