California commissioner orders moratorium on canceling insurance for 185,000 residents

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a one-year moratorium on insurance companies to maintain residential insurance coverage for more than 185,000 policyholders affected by the Park, Borel and Gold Complex fires.

The moratorium protects those living in the perimeters or adjacent zip codes of these fires from not renewing or canceling their insurance for one year from the date of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declarations, regardless of whether they suffered a loss.

The order protects more than 185,000 policyholders for one year for fires.

Consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website to see if their zip code is included in the moratorium.

The Park Fire is now the fourth largest recorded in the state. It now has an area of ​​427,067 acres and is 34% demarcated and covers four counties – Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama. The fire destroyed 636 structures and damaged 49 structures.

The fire in the Park started on July 24. A Chico man accused of setting a fire by pushing a burning vehicle into a grassy area has been arrested and says it was an accident.

July and now August have been active for fires. According to CalFire, 4,946 fires have burned 805,096 acres so far this year, and 1,165 structures have been reported damaged or destroyed.

The Park Fire is the fourth largest wildfire in California, surpassing the 2020 Creek Fire in Fresno County at 379,895 acres and the 2020 SCU Lightning Complex Fire at 396,625 acres. The 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire at 459,123 acres is third on the list, the 2021 Dixie Fire at 963,309 acres was second on the list, and the August 2020 Complex Fire at more than 1 million acres was the largest fire in the state.

Nine of the top 10 largest wildfires in the state occurred after 2017, according to CalFire.

Top photo: Park Fire in California. Source: CalFire.

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