Residential property insurance images.

Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including residential property insurance. Existing law requires an insurer to send various notices to a policyholder at specified intervals. This bill would require an admitted insurer to notify a residential property insurance policyholder that aerial images may be taken or obtained of the insured property, as specified, unless a claim has been submitted or is pending on the property and the images will be used only for evaluating the claim. The bill would require the insurer to provide the aerial images upon request, as specified, and would require the notice to include instructions regarding how a policyholder may make that request. This bill would prohibit an admitted insurer from basing a decision to terminate insurance coverage, as defined, on an aerial image of the insured property taken more than 180 days prior to sending notice of that decision to the policyholder, except as specified. The bill would require an admitted insurer that bases a decision to terminate insurance coverage on an aerial image to provide the policyholder with that aerial image, notice of that decision, and the opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the image, and to verify remediation, before the effective date of the decision to terminate insurance coverage. This bill would make the above-described provisions operative on July 1, 2027.