California Senate Bill 876 was signed on 27 September 2026 (Chapter 656). For losses relating to a declared state of emergency it sets five floors your insurer cannot go below.
Read this first. Not legal or insurance advice, and California only. Every provision below was read from the bill's enrolled text and is cited by section — but we have not verified when each provision takes effect, and the terms of your own policy matter. Check with the Department of Insurance or your agent before relying on a date.
All of these apply to a loss relating to a state of emergency — not to an ordinary claim.
| What | Floor | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Extended replacement cost | 36 months | Ins. Code § 2051.5(b)(1)(B) |
| Proof of loss | 100 days | Ins. Code § 2051.5(b)(3)(A) |
| Additional living expenses | 24 months | Ins. Code § 2060(b)(1) |
| Status report on a new adjuster | 15 calendar days | Ins. Code § 2071, “Adjusters” |
| Penalties during an emergency | $5,000–$20,000 per act | Ins. Code § 790.035(b) |
Ins. Code § 2051.5(b)(1)(B)
If a loss is relating to a state of emergency… a time limit of less than 36 months from the date that the first payment toward the actual cash value is made shall not be placed upon the insured.
What it means for you: The standard limit is 12 months. For a declared-emergency loss it cannot be shorter than 36 — which matters because rebuilding after a wildfire routinely takes longer than a year.
Ins. Code § 2051.5(b)(3)(A)
In the event of a loss relating to a state of emergency… an insurer shall not require the insured to provide proof of loss less than 100 days after the loss.
What it means for you: You cannot be pushed to itemise everything you owned while you are still displaced. 100 days is the floor.
Ins. Code § 2060(b)(1)
If there is a covered loss relating to a state of emergency… coverage for additional living expenses, loss of use, or fair rental value… shall be for a period of no less than 24 months from the inception of the loss.
What it means for you: Temporary housing, for at least two years from the loss — not from when the claim is settled.
Ins. Code § 2071, “Adjusters”
If the company assigns a subsequent adjuster to be primarily responsible for a claim, the insurer, in a timely manner, shall provide the insured with a written status report within 15 calendar days of the assignment.
What it means for you: Being handed to a new adjuster who has to start over is one of the most common complaints after a disaster. A written status report is now owed within 15 days.
Ins. Code § 790.035(b)
A person who engages in an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice… relating to a state of emergency… is liable… of no less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each act, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000)… or, if the act or practice was willful, a civil penalty of no less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)… not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for each act.
What it means for you: Roughly double the non-emergency exposure, and assessed per act rather than per claim.
You will see:
“Insurers must assign a primary point of contact within 30 days of your claim.”
We could not find it in the enrolled text. We checked because two separate summaries asserted it. What the bill does contain is the 15-calendar-day written status report when a subsequent adjuster is assigned (§ 2071) — a different obligation, triggered by a change of adjuster rather than by the claim itself.
It may exist in another statute we have not read. We are not asserting it does not exist anywhere — only that we did not find it here, and we would rather tell you that than repeat it.
These floors matter when the worst has already happened. The other side of the same problem — which fixes reduce your risk, and what your insurer must credit — has its own rules and its own deadlines.
Last updated . Written by Project Trinetra, a program of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Unravel The Love. Not an official government publication, not legal advice, and no substitute for the Department of Insurance or your own agent.
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Informational only — not directive. Always follow official orders. In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number first.