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AB-905 Residential property insurance: Wildfire risk reporting penalties.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 02/14/2023 09:00 PM
AB905:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 905

Introduced by Assembly Member Essayli

February 14, 2023

An act to amend Section 929.3 of the Insurance Code, relating to insurance.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 905, as introduced, Essayli. Residential property insurance: Wildfire risk reporting penalties.
Existing law establishes the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, which regulates insurers and insurance practices. Existing law requires an admitted insurer with written California premiums totaling $10,000,000 or more, to submit a report, as specified, to the commissioner with specified fire risk information on its residential property policies. Existing law subjects an admitted insurer that fails to submit a report to a civil penalty to be fixed by the commissioner, not to exceed $5,000, or $10,000 if the act was willful.
This bill would increase the limit of the penalty against an admitted insurer for a willful failure to report specified fire risk information on its residential property policies from $10,000 to $15,000.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 929.3 of the Insurance Code is amended to read:

929.3.
 (a) Failure to submit a report pursuant to Section 929 shall subject an admitted insurer to a civil penalty to be fixed by the commissioner, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or, if the act was willful, a civil penalty not to exceed ten fifteen thousand dollars ($10,000). ($15,000).
(b) An insurer may request, and the commissioner may grant, a 30-day extension, if needed due to unintended or unforeseen delays, to submit the report. If the insurer fails to submit the report within 30 days of a written notice by the commissioner regarding the failure to submit the report, the commissioner may find that the failure to submit the report was willful and increase the civil penalty to an amount not to exceed ten fifteen thousand dollars ($10,000). ($15,000).
(c) The penalty imposed by this section shall be enforced by the commissioner and may be appealed by means of a remedy provided by Section 12940, or by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. This subdivision is the sole means for enforcement of this section.