Insurers won't be forced to offer home coverage after measure dropped

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

An initiative that would have required California insurers to offer policies to homeowners who fireproof their houses has been withdrawn after the backer of a competing industry measure similarly did so.The mutually agreed-upon move means the consumer protections offered by California’s landmark Proposition 103 will remain unchanged.The 1988 measure established an elected insurance commissioner with authority to reject insurer requests for rate hikes.Consumer Watchdog, the Los Angeles advocacy group that proposed the Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights, acknowledged it didn’t have the money to pursue the ballot measure, even though it said it deserved to become law.

Business A leading consumer group is proposing a policyholder rights initiative that would require insurers to offer coverage to California homeowners who fireproof their homes — or lose the right to sell home or auto insurance in the state for five years.“There is still a huge need for many of the other protections in the ballot measure, including the right to be guaranteed an insurance policy if homeowners meet state wildfire mitigation standards,” the group stated.Three Consumer Watchdog officials, including founder Harvey Rosenfield — also the author of Proposition 103 — submitted the measure for the November 2026 ballot in September after Elizabeth Hammack, a Roseville, Calif., insurance broker, had submitted her measure.The broker’s initiative — the California Insurance Market Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2026 — would have allowed insurer premium hikes to take effect before any rate review, though they could be suspended later if the insurance commissioner determines the market is not “reasonably competitive.”Insurers would have to provide premium credits to policyholders who take steps to reduce fire dangers on their property.The measure also would have abolished another cor...