Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today ordered insurance companies to preserve residential property insurance coverage for approximately 50,000 policyholders in Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Calaveras counties after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency declaration for the Dove Fire. The Commissioner’s Bulletin shields those living within the fire perimeters or adjoining ZIP Codes of the Dove Fire 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 one-year moratorium issued in the Commissioner’s Bulletin also extends to certain commercial property insurance policies including commercial insurance policies with less than $25,000 in annual premium, for homeowners’ associations, apartment complexes, student housing, and senior living facilities, among other specified real property used primarily for residential and habitational purposes, within the same perimeters and adjoining ZIP Codes. This newly expanded moratorium on certain commercial property insurance policies is a result of Lara sponsoring the Business Insurance Protection Act (SB 547, Chapter 544, Statutes of 2025) last year that went into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
“I am acting to protect thousands of Californians from the stress of losing their insurance coverage after experiencing a wildfire emergency,” said Lara. “This protection is needed now as we bring back insurance options to all parts of our state from those who need them the most.”
Lara’s moratorium actions protected more than 1.2 million homeowners in 2025 under the residential moratorium law and more than 4 million homeowners statewide since the law’s enactment in 2019. 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…