California Department of Insurance: Protecting Communities, Preserving Nature, and Building Resiliency

California Department of Insurance presented the findings of the report “Protecting Communities, Preserving Nature, and Building Resiliency; How First-of-Its-Kind Climate Insurance Will Help Combat the Costs of Wildfires, Extreme Heat, and Floods  at the Climate and resiliency Task Force Meeting on Sunday.

The Report offers 40 state and local policy recommendations focused on reducing damage and improving recovery following a wildfire, extreme heat wave, or flood. While benefiting all consumers, the recommendations also focus on low-income communities, seniors, and those without insurance who are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The report recommends policies to the Insurance Commissioner, the Governor’s Administration, the State Legislature, local governments, businesses, and communities across the state to help close growing protection gaps between those who are insured and those who are uninsured or underinsured -- including the first-ever recommendations dealing with the increasingly dangerous threat of extreme heat waves. These recommendations also strengthen nature-based solutions such as healthy forests, wetlands, and urban tree canopies.

While many of the recommendations would require action by Governors, State Legislatures and local governments, the recommendations serve as a framework for how the insurance risk management ecosystem can be harnessed to make communities safer and more resilient.