SB 523: Fire insurance. - California

01/05/26 - Amended Senate → SB523 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions of SB 523. The diff reflects a reformatting of the same bill text from a document layout to a web page presentation, adding navigation elements (skip to content, home, accessibility, FAQ, etc.) and adjusting line breaks and spacing. All operative provisions remain identical.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted from a plain document layout into a web page structure with added navigation links, search fields, and UI elements. No changes to any statutory language, dates, definitions, or requirements.

03/24/25 - Amended Senate → 01/05/26 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Jan 5, 2026

MODERATE

SB 523 was substantially restructured between these versions. The amendment to Civil Code Section 54 regarding disability and medical condition access rights was entirely removed, and a new Insurance Code Section 2059 was added that allows homeowners' insurers to differentiate between internal fire risk (e.g., kitchen fires, electrical fires) and external fire risk (e.g., wildfires) when determining coverage. The bill now focuses exclusively on insurance matters rather than also addressing civil rights.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed from covering both civil rights (disability access under Civil Code Section 54) and insurance (earthquake commission and now fire insurance) to covering only insurance matters. The new fire insurance provision expands the bill's insurance-related scope beyond just the earthquake authority commission.

SCOPE

The entire amendment to Civil Code Section 54, which provided that individuals with disabilities or medical conditions have the same right as the general public to full and free use of public places, was removed from the bill.

New Insurance Code Section 2059 was added, authorizing insurers under homeowners' insurance policies to differentiate the risk of an internal fire from an external fire for purposes of determining coverage.

DEFINITION

Section 2059 defines 'external fire' as a fire that started outside the insured property (including wildfires or fires from neighboring property) and 'internal fire' as a fire that started within the insured property (including kitchen fires, electrical fires, or fires caused by negligence on the property).

TECHNICAL

The fiscal committee vote in the digest changed from 'no' to 'yes.'

02/20/25 - Introduced → 03/24/25 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

The amended version adds an entirely new section to the Insurance Code requiring the California Earthquake Authority to establish a commission by April 1, 2026 to study the feasibility of creating a statewide disaster insurance program. The commission must explore financial estimates for earthquake threats and potential federal support, then report to the Legislature by June 1, 2027. The original Civil Code disability rights provision was retained with only minor technical corrections.

SCOPE

New Insurance Code Section 10089.56 requires the California Earthquake Authority to establish a commission (composed of board members or their designees) that must convene by April 1, 2026 and conclude work by April 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

The commission must explore financial estimates for statewide earthquake threats and potential financial support from federal authorities in a worst-case scenario.

TIMELINE

The commission must submit a report to the Legislature by June 1, 2027 on the feasibility of creating a disaster insurance program in California. The entire provision self-repeals on June 1, 2031.

DEFINITION

In Civil Code Section 54, the definition of 'disability' was corrected from 'any a mental or physical disability' to 'a mental or physical disability,' and the cross-reference for 'medical condition' was updated from 'subdivision (h) of Section 12926' to simply 'Section 12926.'

Fire insurance.

What changed between versions

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