Edhat StaffSource: Office of Sen. Jackson
To help residents whose homes were devastated or destroyed in the recent Montecito mudslides, State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has just introduced a bill to ensure that fire insurance policies cover losses incurred from fire-induced mudslides.
Senate Bill 917 clarifies that, under current law, an insurance policy covers loss or damage resulting from a landslide if that landslide was attributable to a condition already covered by the policy, such as wildfires.
The bill is designed to help current Montecito homeowners whose home insurance coverage of mudslide losses may be under question following the January 9 event, which killed at least 21 residents, injured many others and destroyed almost 10 percent of Montecito’s homes.
While most residents are required to have property insurance, few had purchased optional flood insurance. The mudslide resulted when significant rains – at one point falling at the rate of a half-inch in five minutes – fell upon a burn scar left by the Thomas Fire, the largest wildfire in California history.
“We have seen at least one insurance company step up to the plate for these residents following this devastating mudslide, but for others, questions still remain regarding whether their fire insurance policies will cover the losses from these fire-caused mudslides,” said Jackson. “My bill makes it clear that current law requires coverage of these fire-caused events. For many Californians, their home is their nest egg, and the result of a lifetime of hard work. This is a question of justice and fairness for these residents, many of them retirees, and any Californians who find themselves in similar situations.”
A hearing for the bill has not yet been scheduled.
Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.
Mr. tRump, we’ve read your opinion for days in multiple threads and posts. We got your point. Yes, there should be limits to building and living in urban/rural interface, but you don’t address this in any detail or any constructive way. Thank you.
That entire mudslide area is under threat of future mudslides. So is the entire Montecito area. Should the government allow any of those destroyed or damaged homes to obtain permits to repair or rebuilt? Should children be allowed to live in homes located in the slide area?
A little to late to be of any help to our victims. Why didn’t she introduce this prior to the event…..because now it makes for good press.
Why are you thanking someone who only reacts to events and is not proactive…. She has had since 2012 to brainstorm this – Thomas was not the first fire & slide to threaten SB! Jackson, not a leader but another type of ambulance chaser (politician).
Insurance companies, like em or not, spend lots of time and money to actualize their premiums according to the risk. If they had included flood coverage (which some people probably already paid for), the premiums would be higher. I can’t see this making it through the courts.
The solution is to provide low cost loans like FEMA does.
After every fire we’ve had, there are flood warning the next rain season. Why wait till now to enact legislation?….. to prop herself up in front of her wealthy Montecito donors.
A ridiculous attempt at more nanny state legislation that won’t fly. She is ignorant of the real world realism of reality.
Thank you, State Senator Jackson!
Hannah-Beth Jackson is great. Her detractors are sociopathic trash.
Pull your head out of the sand. This is a waste of legislative time and money. I won’t speculate on her motivation. I just know she is wasting our taxpayer money with this.