California Bill Aims to Enhance Transparency in Insurers’ Use of Aerial Images

A California lawmaker is advocating for a new bill aimed at enhancing transparency in the insurance industry. The proposed legislation would require insurers to notify homeowners prior to taking or utilizing aerial images of their properties. Additionally, it seeks to prevent insurers from making decisions to cancel, non-renew, or reduce coverage based on aerial images that are older than 180 days.

This initiative, known as Assembly Bill 1559, was introduced last week by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, a Democrat from Whittier and chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee. Calderon emphasized that the primary goal of the bill is to safeguard homeowners by ensuring they are informed when aerial images of their homes are captured or acquired by insurance companies.

“As the insurance crisis continues, it is imperative we do what we can to protect policyholders,” Calderon stated. “AB 1559 empowers homeowners by adding a layer of transparency when it comes to non-renewals.”

Aerial imagery, which encompasses images taken by drones, satellites, and airplanes, can provide insurers with detailed information that may not be visible during a traditional home inspection. However, Calderon warns that this technology can also lead to erroneous non-renewals of insurance policies based on outdated, inaccurate, or misleading images.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is a co-author of AB 1559, which is also being sponsored by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. The bill mandates that insurers notify homeowners in advance of taking or obtaining aerial images of their properties. Furthermore, insurers are required to provide these images to homeowners upon request. AB 1559 would also prohibit insurance carriers from basing decisions to cancel, non-renew, or reduce coverage on aerial images that are older than 180 days.

In addition, the bill grants rights to policyholders who have faced insurance decisions influenced by aerial images. This includes the right to receive the images along with the notice of non-renewal and the ability to request in-person verification of the aerial images taken.

Topics
California
Carriers

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