(a) The commissioner shall establish the California Home Insurance Finder on the department’s Internet Web site. The purpose of the finder is to connect homeowners in need of insurance assistance to an insurance agent or broker to assist in finding residential property insurance.
(1) The department shall annually survey licensed insurance agents, licensed insurance brokers, and admitted insurers in California regarding inclusion on the finder.
(2) On or before July 1, 2020, and at least annually thereafter, the department shall update the finder with the names, addresses, phone numbers, and Internet Web site links, if the licensee has an Internet Web site address, of the licensed insurance agents and brokers and admitted insurers for inclusion in the finder. The information shall be aggregated by ZIP Code within which the insurance agent, broker, or insurer maintains an office or sells policies, as well as by the languages in which the insurance agent, broker, or insurer may transact insurance.
(3) The department shall use social media and other appropriate tools to make consumers aware of the California Home Insurance Finder. The department shall develop materials in the most common languages used in the state to facilitate access to the finder for non-English-speaking consumers.
(b) On and after July 1, 2020, an insurer shall provide to an applicant who is denied coverage, or to a policyholder whose policy is canceled or not renewed, information regarding the department’s California Home Insurance Finder. This disclosure may be provided jointly with the disclosure required by subdivision (h) of Section 10095.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 629, Sec. 1. (AB 1875) Effective January 1, 2019.)