PD Editorial: Don’t let local fire victims get burned, again

The Press Democrat's latest tally shows that 393 homes have been rebuilt since the October 2017 wildfires, with 1,940 houses and apartments under construction and permits issued for 385 more.

That's a milestone - more than half of the 5,334 housing units destroyed in Sonoma County's worst disaster are back or on the way back.

But it's no consolation for hundreds of local families whose rental assistance will run out before their homes can be rebuilt.

They're facing punishing expenses unless insurers show them a little mercy.

We hope that isn't too much to ask.

Under the state law in place at the time of the North Bay fires, insurers were required to provide temporary housing for two years while policyholders rebuilt. That's adequate after an ordinary house fire, but no one ever believed that 5,300 homes would be rebuilt in just two years.

Add in problems with debris removal and unexpected contamination of water lines, and many local homeowners had no way of rebuilding by the deadline.

State lawmakers tried to fix the problem last year, but local fire victims got left out.

Insurers now must provide 36 months of rental assistance when a home is destroyed in an officially designated disaster area.

As proposed by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, the three-year rule would have covered victims of the North Bay wildfires, the biggest in state history at that time, as well as people who people who lost homes two months later when fires swept across Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

But insurers flexed their considerable muscle in Sacramento, lobbying successfully to prevent the new rule (and several other insurance reforms) from applying retroactively.

As a result, local fire victims soon could be faced with paying rent on temporary housing on top of mortgages on homes that burned and any rebuilding costs not covered by insurance.

One of the changes enacted last year - but denied to the victims of 2017 fires - was flexibility for policyholders over how their total coverage is allocated. Insurers could extend that courtesy to victims of the 2017 fires who have faithfully paid their premiums and are working to rebuild their homes. For some, that might cover temporary housing costs.

State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who met with fire victims in Santa Rosa last week, is asking insurers to give people that kind of a break.

“With labor shortages and other outside factors delaying the rebuilding process, time is running out for many who lost their homes in the 2017 fires,” Lara said in a written statement. “I urge insurers to show good faith with their policyholders by extending living expense payments to those who have endured so many delays beyond their control.”

Lara also issued a nonbinding request to insurers.

It's a longshot, but an insurance trade association spokeswoman told Staff Writer Bill Swindell that “the law allows for flexibility” and “policyholders should always have a conversation with their insurer to find solutions.” We urge Gov. Gavin Newsom and local legislators to get behind Lara's request. Tell insurers that local fire victims shouldn't be victimized again.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com