A bill introduced in the California Legislature would impose new transparency requirements on property insurers that use aerial imaging to assess risk.
Assembly Bill 1559, sponsored by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-District 56), would require carriers to notify homeowners before capturing or obtaining aerial photographs of their properties.
Under the proposed legislation, insurers would be prohibited from canceling, nonrenewing or reducing coverage based on aerial images older than 180 days. The bill also mandates that carriers share those images with homeowners upon request.
AB 1559 would expand policyholder rights in several areas. Consumers would be entitled to receive aerial images along with nonrenewal notices and could request in-person verification of the images used in underwriting decisions.
Calderon said aerial imaging allows insurers to gather information that traditional inspections may not capture. However, she noted that such images can sometimes be inaccurate, outdated or misleading, leading to coverage decisions that harm policyholders.
A growing number of California homeowners have lost coverage due to aerial imaging assessments, according to Calderon. She said affected consumers currently have limited options to challenge those decisions.
AB 1559 is the latest in a series of insurance-related measures Calderon has introduced. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed AB 226, another Calderon-sponsored bill that authorizes the California FAIR Plan to secure additional capacity through bonds or lines of credit.
That legislation also bars the cancellation or nonrenewal of coverage for failure to enroll in automatic payments, reflecting a broader legislative push to expand policyholder protections.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has announced his support for AB 1559. Lara said insurers have used aerial images to flag properties for adverse action, even in cases where the images contained errors or were no longer current.
"My department's own investigations of consumer complaints have found serious flaws with companies' practices," Lara said. "Requiring insurance companies to be transparent with their policyholders can correct any errors upfront before people are harmed."
The bill comes as California's property insurance market continues to face pressure from wildfire risk and insurer withdrawals. Carriers have increasingly turned to technology, including satellite and aerial imagery, to evaluate properties in high-risk areas without conducting physical inspections.
