Many California ZIP Codes Get Protection From Home Insurance Non-Renewals
January 6, 2021 1:32 PM John Egan - Forbes Advisor
Posted:
Updated:
January 8, 2021 5:36 AM
Nearly 2.4 home insurance policyholders in California now fall under a one-year moratorium against non-renewal of residential property insurance coverage in the wake of historic wildfires in 2020.
On Dec. 31, 2020, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara put another six ZIP codes under the moratorium, bringing to 563 the number of ZIP codes now protected from non-renewal of residential property insurance policies. This means homeowners won’t lose their home insurance when their policies come up for renewal.
California has more than 2,600 ZIP codes, meaning the moratorium covers about one-fifth of the state’s ZIP codes.
By Nicole Russell | January 7, 2021 | 12:55pm EST
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gives a speech. (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
As the new year begins, elected officials at both the state and federal level are already busy manipulating language in order to erase biology in public discourse and policy.
At the tail end of 2020, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara directed the Department of Insurance “to issue a General Counsel Opinion Letter clarifying that under existing California law, health insurance companies may not deny coverage for male chest reconstruction surgery for female-to-male patients undergoing gender-affirming care for gender dysphoria based solely on a patient’s age.”
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is taking steps to ensure transgender youth are not denied access to medical care by their insurance company.
Lara announced Wednesday, December 30, that he had directed the Department of Insurance to issue a General Counsel Opinion Letter clarifying that under existing California law, health insurance companies may not deny coverage for male chest reconstruction surgery for female-to-male patients undergoing gender-affirming care for gender dysphoria based solely on a patient s age. The letter, signed by General Counsel & Deputy Commissioner Kenneth B. Schnoll, was in response to an inquiry the department had received from a transgender agency in San Diego.
• Provide immediate relief from Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy clawbacks created by COVID-19 uncertainty.
• Provide clarity on COVID-19 testing coverage requirements, especially in regard to tests that are ordered as part of state-based contact tracing efforts.
• Partner with states in actively focusing on programs and practices that address the needs of historically marginalized communities.
• Address problematic elements of the recently proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for Plan Year 2022.
• Allow flexibility for states aiming to pursue progressive policy aims by empowering them to apply for ACA innovation waivers beyond reinsurance.
Longer-term policy priorities
• Reverse policies, such as the weakening of non-discrimination protections and the public charge rule, that undermine the ACA and deny health care coverage to many people.