Insurance: policy documents.

Assembly Member Calderon's fire insurance legislation would cut in half the time California insurers must provide policy documents to customers following covered losses, reducing the current 30-day requirement to 15 calendar days.

The measure creates two additional provisions governing policy document access. First, it establishes that customers who have not filed claims may request one free copy of their complete policy annually. Second, during officially declared states of emergency, insurers would be permitted to fulfill document requests electronically, even for customers who have not opted into electronic communications. The bill specifies that requesting electronic documents during emergencies does not constitute broader consent for electronic transactions.

Throughout these changes, the Insurance Commissioner retains authority to extend document delivery deadlines when warranted. The complete policy documents provided under any of these provisions must include the full insurance policy, all endorsements, and the declarations page.