HB 1502 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

HB 1502 requires property and casualty insurance companies to establish specific pre-disaster planning and post-disaster assistance measures for policyholders. It directly affects homeowners and businesses covered by these insurance policies, as well as the insurers themselves. Key provisions mandate that insurers develop and implement plans to protect policyholders before disasters occur and provide clear support after events like hurricanes or wildfires. The bill takes effect on July 1, 3000, as stated in the official abstract.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB1502 → HB1502_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its first House of Representatives reading (HD1) and includes significant substantive changes to insurance requirements. The most critical addition is a new section mandating that insurers provide at least 36 months (plus two 6-month extensions) for homeowners to rebuild after a total loss, addressing concerns that previous timeframes were too short. The text also clarifies that relocation to a new area does not void coverage for building code upgrades and extended replacement costs.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on property and casualty insurance in Hawaii, but the applicability of the new rebuilding timeline rules is now explicitly set to begin on July 1, 3000, for policies issued or renewed on or after the effective date.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory minimum of 36 months (extendable to 48 months) for insurers to allow policyholders to submit receipts and rebuild after a total loss, replacing shorter, less specific timelines.

Added a provision ensuring that choosing to rebuild in a new location does not disqualify a policyholder from receiving payments for building code upgrades and extended replacement costs.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date for the new rebuilding timeline requirements to July 1, 3000, likely a placeholder or error in the draft that needs correction to a realistic future date.

TECHNICAL

Updated internal bill metadata, including the version number (HD1), tracking numbers, and formatting headers to reflect the current legislative stage.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 244) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Lamosao, Poepoe, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Ichiyama, Morikawa.

lower

Jan 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to PBS, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 4

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

7 primary · 1 co-sponsor