What's new in California - Week of August 17, 2026

California — Lara & Transparency: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that new transparency and accountability reforms are now in effect, modernizing California’s insurance rate review process and strengthening consumer protections. These reforms increase public access to information, establish clearer standards for intervenor participation, and ensure stronger oversight of costs that can ultimately be paid by policyholders.

“These reforms put the power of transparency directly into consumers’ hands, where it belongs,” said Commissioner Lara. “Every dollar matters for Californians who are struggling to find and afford insurance. They have a right to know who is participating in rate proceedings, what costs are being requested, and how those costs impact the premiums they ultimately pay.”

The new “Administrative Hearing Bureau and Intervenor Fairness and Accountability” regulation represents the most significant modernization of California’s insurance intervenor process since voters approved Proposition 103 in 1988.

The regulation strengthens transparency, improves accountability, and enhances public confidence in California’s insurance rate review system by establishing clearer standards for intervenor participation, documentation, and compensation requests. It also improves public access to information about pending administrative hearings including regular status updates in rate filing proceedings to promote greater understanding of public processes.

“Transparency cannot apply to only one part of the process,” continued Commissioner Lara. “We are holding every participant accountable -- insurance companies, intervenors, and the Department itself -- because consumers deserve a fair, modern, and fully transparent insurance marketplace. These reforms strengthen oversight, not limit participation, and ensure that consumer dollars are protected at every step.”

The urgency of these reforms is underscored by the recent State Farm General rate proceeding, in which Consumer Watchdog joined a three‑party settlement supporting an average 17 percent rate increase for State Farm homeowners’ policyholders. Consumer Watchdog may later seek intervenor compensation for its participation, as authorized under Proposition 103. If a compensation request is submitted and approved, the award could be paid by State Farm policyholders under existing law.

Future rate applications and any future requests for compensation submitted under the new regulation will be reviewed under the Department’s enhanced transparency, accountability, and qualification standards now in effect.

The Department issued letters to all currently certified intervenors notifying them that parties seeking compensation funded by policyholders may be required to answer additional questions and provide supplemental documentation demonstrating compliance with the new requirements including disclosure of funding sources and potential conflicts of interest. Petitions recently granted by the Department will be subject to these requirements as applicable. All Department actions on intervenor compensation requests will continue to be posted publicly. From 2013 to 2026, intervenors received more than $14.4 million in compensation for their participation in rate filings.

The Department’s record during Commissioner Lara’s tenure demonstrates the importance of rigorous regulatory oversight. From 2019 through 2025, the Department’s expert review of insurance rate filings saved Californians $6.6 billion in premiums and secured $3.3 billion in refunds for drivers during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, after a rigorous review by Department rate regulation experts, a homeowners insurance rate request from Farmers Insurance was reduced from 6.9 percent to approximately 1.5 percent. That reduction achieved through the Department’s independent rate review process resulted in significant consumer savings without requiring policyholders to pay intervenor compensation costs.

These regulations build upon Commissioner Lara’s broader efforts to modernize California’s insurance system, improve transparency, strengthen consumer protections, and stabilize the state’s insurance marketplace. The Department will continue to closely scrutinize all requests for intervenor participation and compensation under the new regulation to ensure California’s nationally recognized rate review system continues evolving with stronger transparency, clearer accountability, and a continued focus on protecting consumers.

For more information about the intervenor compensation process and the Department’s transparency initiatives, visit insurance.ca.gov.

California — Wildfire Protections: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has ordered insurance companies to preserve residential property insurance coverage for more than 64,000 policyholders affected by the Gann Fire after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency declaration on August 6th. The Commissioner’s Bulletin shields those living within the perimeter or adjoining 22 ZIP Codes of the wildfire from insurance non-renewal or cancellation for one year from the date of the Governor’s emergency declaration regardless of whether they suffered a loss.

The Commissioner’s Bulletin also extends to certain commercial property insurance policies including commercial policies for homeowners associations, apartment complexes, and senior living facilities, among other specified real property used primarily for residential and habitational purposes, within the same perimeters and adjoining ZIP Codes for the first time following the passage of Senate Bill 547, the Business Insurance Protection Act, sponsored by Commissioner Lara and authored jointly by Senators Susan Rubio and Sasha Renée Pérez.

“This moratorium offers tens of thousands of Californians a reprieve from the threat of losing their insurance coverage after going through a wildfire emergency,” said Commissioner Lara. “For the first time since I authored the Wildfire Safety and Recovery Act in 2018, commercial property insurance policies are now included in this important protection, meaning more Californians have peace of mind as they figure out their next steps following this fire.”

Under Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, 11 insurance groups, including seven of the state’s top homeowners carriers – Farmers, Mercury, Auto Club of Southern California, CSAA, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and Travelers, plus specialty insurance companies Pacific Specialty, California Casualty, and Horace Mann, and new entrant MS Transverse – have announced they are staying and growing in parts of the state affected by wildfires.

Commissioner Lara’s moratorium actions protected more than 1.2 million homeowners in 2025 under the residential moratorium law. Consumers who were non-renewed prior to the emergency declaration date and are unable to obtain insurance or are dissatisfied with their current coverage should contact the California Department of Insurance for assistance in understanding their options and tools.

Consumers can go to the Department of Insurance website to see if their ZIP Code is included in the moratorium. Consumers also should contact the Department at 800-927-4357 or via online chat or email at insurance.ca.gov if they believe their insurance company is in violation of this law, or have additional claims-related questions.

Commissioner Lara’s major wildfire-related actions since taking office in 2019 include:

Conceptualizing and implementing California’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, the largest insurance reform in California since voters passed Proposition 103 in 1988. This new strategy is a comprehensive approach to modernizing California’s insurance market by improving insurance choices for consumers, creating a resilient insurance market, and protecting communities from climate threats, while addressing the long-term sustainability of the nation’s largest insurance market.

Creating “Safer from Wildfires,” a new insurance framework that incorporates wildfire safety measures to help save lives while making homes and businesses more resilient. Safer from Wildfires was created by a first-ever partnership between the Department and the emergency and preparedness agencies in the Governor’s Administration, including the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), the then-Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and the California Public Utilities Commission.

Finalizing new regulations to incorporate Safer from Wildfires in insurance pricing, driving down costs for consumers who have taken actions to protect their communities while increasing transparency about their home’s or business’s “wildfire risk score.”

Sponsoring new insurance protections signed into law by the Governor — despite opposition from insurance companies — that will mean larger payouts for some claims, less red tape from insurance companies, and more help for people under evacuation orders.

Expanding residential and commercial coverage limits at the FAIR Plan for the first time in 25 years to keep pace with increased costs.

Following the Governor’s state of emergency declarations, the Department of Insurance partners with CAL FIRE and CalOES, pursuant to existing statute, to identify wildfire perimeters for mandatory moratorium areas. The Department will continue to collaborate with CAL FIRE and CalOES to identify additional wildfire perimeters for any fires where there is a gubernatorial declaration of a state of emergency.