This chapter shall apply to policies of insurance, other than automobile insurance and workers? compensation insurance, on risks located or resident in this state which are issued and take effect or which are renewed after the effective date of this chapter and which insure any of the following contingencies:
(a)Loss of or damage to real property which is used predominantly for residential purposes.
(b)Loss of or damage to personal property in which natural persons resident in specifically described real property of the kind described in subdivision (a) have an insurable interest.
(c)Legal liability of a natural person or persons for loss of, damage to, or injury to, persons or property.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 231, Sec. 5. (AB 2045) Effective January 1, 2019.)
No admitted insurer that is licensed to issue any policy of insurance covered by this chapter shall fail or refuse to accept an application for, or to issue a policy to an applicant for, that insurance (unless the insurance is to be issued to the applicant by another insurer under the same management and control), or cancel that insurance, under conditions less favorable to the insured than in other comparable cases, except for reasons applicable alike to persons of every characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code; nor shall any of those characteristics, of itself, constitute a condition or risk for which a higher rate, premium, or charge may be required of the insured for that insurance.
(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 682, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2009.)
No application for insurance specified in this chapter or insurance investigation report furnished by an insurer to its agents or employees for use in determining the insurability of an applicant shall carry any identification, or any requirement therefor, of any characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code with respect to the applicant.
(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 682, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2009.)
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit use in an application for insurance specified in this chapter of a question asking for the birthplace of an applicant if such question is used only to identify the applicant and not to discriminate against the applicant.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 772.)
(a)An admitted insurer that is licensed to issue a policy of insurance upon real property of the type described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 675 or paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 675.5, when that real property is used for residential purposes, or property of the type described in subdivision (a) of Section 10087, shall not fail or refuse to accept an application for, or to issue a policy to an applicant for, that insurance unless the insurance is to be issued to the applicant by another insurer under the same management and control, or cancel that insurance, based upon the following characteristics:
(1)The level or source of income of an individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property to be insured, if the individual or group of individuals is not the owner of the real property.
(2)The receipt of assistance, intended for housing, from the federal or state government, or from a local public entity, as defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property insured or to be insured.
(b)An application for a policy of insurance upon real property of the type described in subdivision (a), or an insurance investigation report furnished by an insurer to its agents or employees for use in determining the insurability of an applicant under such a policy, shall not carry any identification, or any requirement for identification, of the following characteristics:
(1)The level or source of income of an individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property to be insured, if the individual or group of individuals is not the owner of the real property.
(2)The receipt of assistance, intended for housing, from the federal or state government, or from a local public entity, as defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property insured or to be insured.
(c)In the case of real property of the type described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 675, paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 675.5, or subdivision (a) of Section 10087 that is used for both residential and commercial purposes, the insurer, or its agent or employee, may consider the source of income of a nonresidential tenant of the property in determining the insurability of an applicant.
(d)Nothing in this section prohibits an insurer from failing or refusing to accept an application for, issuing, or canceling or failing to renew, a policy of insurance covered by this chapter as a result of underwriting or assessment of factors other than those characteristics listed in subdivision (a), or as otherwise prohibited by law.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 432, Sec. 1. (AB 447) Effective January 1, 2016.)
To reduce underwriting risk and ensure solvency, an insurer providing insurance coverage pertaining to a private detention facility, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 9500 of the Penal Code, may consider whether the private detention facility complies with all of the requirements of Section 9506 of the Penal Code as part of the insurer?s loss control program.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 298, Sec. 1. (SB 334) Effective January 1, 2022.)