Weekly Roundup: New Blueprint, New Polling, and Growing Calls for Insurance Reform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2026
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: New Blueprint, New Polling, and Growing Calls for Insurance Reform
Each week, the Insurance Fairness Project highlights the latest developments in the national climate-driven property insurance crisis. For more insurance updates, follow us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Bluesky.
1/ HOW TO FIX CALIFORNIA’S INSURANCE CRISIS: This week, the Insurance Fairness Project hosted a press conference featuring California experts and homeowners who unveiled a new “Blueprint to A.C.T.” — on Affordability, Climate Risk Reduction, and Transparency — for the state's next Insurance Commissioner. The speakers also discussed new polling showing strong public demand for reform.
The Blueprint was developed by California Insurance Commissioner Emeritus Dave Jones, Consumer Watchdog, Rise Economy, Extreme Weather Survivors, Climate Cabinet Education, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Public Citizen, and The Greenlining Institute and has been endorsed by more than two dozen organizations and counting.
A Blueprint to A.C.T: A Blueprint to A.C.T. for California’s Next Insurance Commissioner
Insurance Fairness Project: Experts Unveil “Blueprint to A.C.T.” for California’s Next Insurance Commissioner to Tackle Home Insurance Crisis
“The immediate aftermath of a disaster is just the beginning of an onset of issues survivors face in their journey to recovery,” said Alyson Granaderos Philips, an Altadena resident and Eaton Fire survivor. “The systems we pay into to protect us during times of disaster continually act in bad faith. The individuals voted into power to regulate these systems demonstrate that their interests are not in line with the needs of survivors. So where do we turn?”
Watch the full recording here.
2/ NEW POLL SHOWS STRONG VOTER SUPPORT FOR TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE AND RISING COSTS TOGETHER: A recent poll by Data for Progress and the Climate and Community Institute (CCI) shows voters agree that climate change and the cost of living are challenges that should be addressed together. Respondents recognize that rising insurance premiums, higher energy bills, housing instability, and the growing cost of disaster recovery are all connected, and they want policymakers to treat them as parts of a single problem.
Climate & Community Institute: Climate and Community Institute Launches Working Class Climate Agenda
Insurance Fairness Project: New Poll Reveals Strong Voter Support for Tackling Climate and Rising Costs Together
“Households across the country recognize how the climate and cost-of-living crises intersect — from rising insurance costs after major disasters to soaring electricity bills during severe heat waves — and are demanding bold action from policymakers to make their lives better and more affordable,” said Moira Birss, Senior Fellow at the Climate & Community Institute. “Elected leaders must respond to this call, and they can look to CCI’s ‘Stop Greed Build Green’ strategy, which provides a pathway to bring down costs, rebuild the government, and remake the economy to actually deliver for working class people—not billionaires—all while taking the climate crisis seriously as an economic disrupter.”
3/ SHOULD BIG OIL PAY FOR CALIFORNIA’S INSURANCE CRISIS? Dave Jones, the former California Insurance Commissioner and director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley argues that Big Oil should pay for the rising costs of climate change hitting consumers’ wallets.
San Francisco Chronicle: Climate change is hitting Californians hard. The state should make Big Oil pick up the tab
By Dave Jones
While Big Oil continues to escape accountability for its role in these disasters, its share of the costs are being passed onto the public, with climbing utility and insurance rates as a result of rising costs associated with wildfire mitigation and losses.
In a separate op-ed for the New York Times, Commissioner Jones also discusses the dangers of Big Oil’s campaign for immunity from liability.
New York Times: Gun Manufacturers Won the Ultimate Legal Shield. Big Oil Wants That, Too.
By Dave Jones
As climate disasters mount, and the Trump administration slashes federal disaster response, the most important thing members of Congress can do is protect their constituents’ ability to make polluters pay
4/ EVEN AFTER SETTLEMENT, MAUI WILDFIRE SURVIVORS FACE LONG WAIT FOR RELIEF: The $4 billion Maui wildfire settlement has finally been resolved, clearing a major legal hurdle for survivors seeking compensation, but survivors will still have to wait months before receiving any funds. Even then, payments will be spread out over four annual installments through 2029, meaning many families who lost homes, livelihoods, and stability will continue to face uncertainty and financial strain for years to come.
Hawaii News Now: Wildfire payoffs start slow path to victims
“This was supposed to be fast. And yet it’s going to take till 2029 for us to get a settlement. That’s seven years,” Hill said.
5/ SURVIVORS ARE “FIGHTING BACK”: The latest episode of Consumer Watchdog's podcast series focuses on legislative proposals that would rein in insurance companies, which are leaving wildfire survivors underpaid, exposed to toxic contamination, and facing delays that stretch for months.
SB 877 would require insurers to disclose all original and revised loss estimates, so consumers could see how their claim payout was calculated and more easily challenge underpayments.
SB 878 would press insurers to pay claims faster and charge them 20% interest on late payments.
Consumer Watchdog: Latest Episode of Smoke & Mirrors Podcast Explores How Fire Survivors Are Fighting Back
“They just went and made 58 pages of arbitrary redlines that cut it down to $19,000, when the ServPro original estimate was $68,000 to do the cleaning,” said Valverde. “And this was before we found out about the toxic chemicals that have been left behind that now require specialized cleaning.”
Resources
Insurance Fairness Project: Polling – Voters Want Their Government to Address the Property Insurance Crisis
Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project: Mapping the Home Insurance Crisis
Consumer Federation of America: Overburdened: The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners
Brookings Institution:Homeowners insurance in an era of climate change
Consumer Federation of America and Climate and Community Institute: Penalized: The Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums
Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen: Rising Property Insurance Premiums: The Uneven Risks to Household and Systemic Financial Stability
Climate and Community Institute (CCI): Insurers of Last Resort: Why Today’s FAIR Plans Need a Redesign to Address the Home Insurance Crisis
Center for Climate Integrity: How Big Oil is Fueling the Insurance Crisis And Why State Policymakers Should Act
Dave Jones, Yale Law Journal: The Uninsurable Future: The Climate Threat to Property Insurance, and How to Stop It
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The Insurance Fairness Project is an information hub dedicated to offering insights into the home insurance crisis, exploring its drivers and highlighting solutions alongside issue experts and community advocates.
