Homeowners near California wildfires won’t lose insurance

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Homeowners and renters in 22 Northern California counties impacted by wildfires are guaranteed not to lose property insurance policies for the next year.

State law temporarily bans insurance companies from dropping customers who live in ZIP codes that are either next to or within the perimeter of a declared wildfire disaster.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued six “state of emergency” declarations for wildfires since July 23. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a temporary moratorium Monday for about 325,000 policyholders who live near those wildfires.

This is the third year California has issued this moratorium since the law was first passed in 2018.