Sen. Dodd Commends Insurance Benefits Extension

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, today commended Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara for advocating on behalf of 2017 wildfire survivors to persuade 26 insurance companies to voluntarily extend temporary living expense benefits beyond the two-year requirement.

“I appreciate the insurance commissioner for joining us in pushing the industry to do the right thing,” Sen. Dodd said. “It shouldn’t be so hard. But I’m glad the companies that did finally came around.”

For many survivors, benefits were set to expire this month on the two-year anniversary of the devastating North Bay wildfires. Commissioner Lara today released a list of insurance companies that agreed to the extension.

Last year, Sen. Dodd introduced Senate Bill 894, which would have made it a requirement for insurance companies to extend the benefits for three years after a disaster. However, the provision was removed from the bill after intense insurance industry lobbying.

Related legislation this year from Sen. Dodd, SB 240, requires independent insurance adjusters hired to process post-disaster claims read and understand state laws outlining property insurance claims. It came in response to complaints about insurance adjusters after the wildfires. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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Senator Bill Dodd represents California’s 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Yolo, Sacramento, and Contra Costa counties. You can learn more about Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.