California passes Smoke Damage Recovery Act to protect wildfire survivors

California wildfire survivors gain new protections with the Smoke Damage Recovery Act. This legislation establishes the nation's first science-based framework for smoke damage assessment. Insurers will now cover testing and restoration costs for affected homes. The bill also extends additional living expense coverage for displaced families. This new law aims to hold insurance companies more accountable for wildfire impacts.

California wildfire survivors are a step closer to a set of protections no other state has written. The state Legislature has approved AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, according to a statement issued by the California Department of Insurance on September 1.

The department said the bill would create the nation's first enforceable, science-based framework for investigating and restoring homes damaged by wildfire smoke, and would strengthen protections for families displaced by contamination. It now awaits the Governor's signature.

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Until now, the state has had no enforceable statewide standard for any part of that process. The department said California has never had enforceable rules for investigating and restoring smoke-damaged homes after a wildfire, and that AB 1795 would require insurers to follow public health standards for testing, remediation and restoration.

Lara, quoted in the department's statement, said wildfire survivors "should never have to fight for answers" about whether their home is safe to return to. He said the bill puts health and safety first and holds insurance companies accountable.

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Gipson, in the same statement, said homeowners should not have to fight their insurer while trying to rebuild, and that the bill addresses smoke contamination "with real accountability."

What the bill would change

The central shift is in who has to prove what. According to the department, AB 1795 creates a rebuttable presumption that when wildfire smoke is present in a residential property inside a wildfire impact zone, the damage was caused by that wildfire. The department said this reduces uncertainty for survivors and triggers the rest of the bill's consumer protections.

The bill would also make insurers responsible for the testing and sampling costs needed to establish what a safe restoration requires, the department said, rather than leaving that expense with the homeowner.

On timelines, it would require insurers to inspect a smoke-damaged property within 30 days of receiving notice of a claim or gaining access to it. Repair estimates would have to restore the property to at least its pre-loss condition while meeting applicable health and safety standards.

For families who cannot go home, the department said the bill would bar insurers from terminating additional living expense coverage on qualifying smoke damage claims until the home is restored to its pre-loss condition and cleared for human occupancy.

The release also lists protections for a survivor's right to choose the vendor or contractor doing the restoration, training and certification requirements for adjusters handling wildfire smoke claims, and worker safety provisions through the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

A warehouse fire widened the scope

The bill does not confine itself to wildfires. The department said it responds to the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, which exposed gaps in insurance coverage, emergency response and community recovery when residents and businesses faced prolonged smoke contamination.

AB 1795 would direct the Department of Insurance and CalOES to evaluate those gaps and recommend protections for homeowners, renters, businesses and communities affected by future smoke contamination events. According to the release, the review will examine coverage gaps, emergency response challenges, public health impacts and community recovery needs, with recommendations aimed at modernising the state's framework for industrial contamination incidents as well as fires.

Lara, in the statement, said the Lineage fire "exposed serious gaps" that left families, businesses and neighbourhoods without support. He said he grew up in the area and has seen the environmental burdens those communities have carried.

What advocates say, in the department's release

The department said the legislation was shaped by input from wildfire survivors, consumer advocates and public health experts.

Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, was quoted in the release saying the group has spent more than a decade pushing insurers to routinely test wildfire-damaged homes and to stop telling homeowners their houses were safe to move back into when they were not. She called the passage of AB 1795 "an important win" in that fight.

Eaton Fire Residents United, also quoted in the release, said California has written rules the rest of the country can use as a reference point, and that people need to know when it is safe to return to a smoke-damaged home once the flames are out. The group is not quoted through a named spokesperson in the statement.

The department said the framework, together with the review of the Lineage fire, creates a model other states may follow.