Sponsors (2)
The bill funds a federal study to produce authoritative wildfire-risk data and recommendations that can improve mitigation and inform policy, but it provides no immediate relief and may trigger market, regulatory, or valuation consequences that could raise costs or reduce options for homeowners and insurers.
Homeowners, small-business owners, state and local governments, and Congress will receive an authoritative federal analysis and risk mapping of wildfire exposure within 12 months, improving information that can guide insurance, mortgage underwriting, and policy decisions.
State and local governments will get data to guide mitigation and land-use decisions that reduce future wildfire losses and infrastructure damage.
Low- and moderate-income property owners could benefit from targeted, means-tested affordability measures if the study recommends such programs, lowering out-of-pocket insurance costs for vulnerable households.
Homeowners, low-income individuals, and small businesses receive no immediate relief because the study delays action for up to 12 months while affordability and availability problems persist.
Homeowners and small businesses could face reduced insurance availability or higher premiums if the report prompts regulatory interventions (rate caps, moratoria) that lead insurers to withdraw products or shift costs elsewhere.
Homeowners in high-risk areas could see property values decline and encounter more complicated mortgage or insurance costs if a federal risk map or stricter requirements label properties as higher risk.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires GAO, with input from the Federal Insurance Office and state regulators, to study wildfire risk and insurance market responses and report to Congress within 12 months.
Introduced January 16, 2025 by Maxine Waters · Last progress January 16, 2025
Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO), working with the Federal Insurance Office and state insurance regulators, to conduct a comprehensive study of wildfire risk and how insurance markets and regulators have responded, and to deliver a report to Congress within 12 months of enactment. The study must cover wildfire risk trends and mitigation, a 10-year review of homeowners and commercial property wildfire coverage (rates, nonrenewals, exclusions, mitigation conditions), state regulatory actions (rate regulation, moratoria, residual markets, etc.), and underwriting and modeling challenges facing private insurers, including effects on affordability and vulnerable communities. The legislation creates no immediate changes to insurance rules or spending; it requires analysis and recommendations to inform future policy decisions. The report is intended to help lawmakers, regulators, insurers, and communities understand risks and potential policy options such as risk mapping, regulatory changes, reinsurance mechanisms, or targeted assistance for impacted populations.