SCRIPPS RANCH -- Wildfire survivors who cast a suspicious eye on State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi five months ago found themselves standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him Monday.
"When you first came to town, you were smooth and I was skeptical," San Diego fire survivor Adam Richardson told Garamendi. "I didn't just want answers, I wanted (to know) how and when."
He added that Garamendi put himself and 12 fire survivors --- dubbed the Dynamic Dozen by the insurance commissioner -- to work in Sacramento, lobbying for a collection of legislation called the Homeowners Bill of Rights.
To the melody of banging hammers on a street stripped of houses by the Oct. 26 Cedar fire, the 12 survivors gathered around Garamendi for a press conference to announce that in the last two months, four insurance-related bills have been signed into law.
The four bills -- inspired by the complaints of the homeowners -- make it illegal for insurance companies to drop homeowners for a year after they file a claim, extend deadlines for rebuilding, require insurance companies to spell out the exact amount of coverage and provide fire survivors with access to a state mediation program.
"I am the least likely lobbyist you will ever meet," Richardson told neighbors, supporters and reporters. "But when you go and you are candid and you tell your story, it works."
Garamendi told the gathering that Monday was "a day of celebration."
"This is for these fire survivors who saw something wrong with the system and were willing to fight the powerful insurance agencies," he said. "Today, Californians everywhere should be happy that there are laws that will help and protect them now and in the future."
Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, authored Assembly Bill 2199, which passed Aug. 25 and took effect immediately. It extends the deadline for homeowners to rebuild from 6 months to 12 months under normal situations and to 24 months for declared states of emergency.
At the press conference, Kehoe pointed to the array of houses on Pinecastle Street in Scripps Ranch that were still in the framing phase of construction.
"We are almost a year out from the Cedar fire and these houses are not even close to being built yet," Kehoe said. "None of them are complete and some are not even started."
Another bill in the package, Senate Bill 1855 by state Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego, was signed by the governor Aug. 30. When it goes into effect in January, it will require insurance companies to provide customers with a breakdown of costs for comprehensive replacement coverage.
The bill struck a chord with the dozen fire survivor-lobbyists -- 10 from San Diego County and two from San Bernardino County -- because they said they were shocked to discover that full-coverage homeowners insurance did not cover the cost of replacing a home and its contents because of depreciation and increasing construction costs.
"I am looking forward to moving in next year," said Robert Ilko, one of the citizen lobbyists. "I just hope that now, replacement really means replacement."
Garamendi urged everyone to check their insurance policy to make sure it would provide enough money to replace their property even as replacement costs climb.
"We have found that 65 percent of Americans do not have enough homeowners' insurance coverage," he said. "It is particularly a major problem in the San Diego area."
Pam Savelsberg, 54, who lives on nearby Semillon Boulevard, said she was especially interested in the third bill in the package.
Assembly Bill 2962, by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, prohibits insurance companies from canceling or not renewing a policy for a year after a disaster. It was signed into law Sept. 20.
Savelsberg's home was damaged but not destroyed in the Cedar fire. After filing a claim for the damage, her insurance company decided not to renew her policy, she said.
"When I finally found another policy, the price had doubled," Savelsberg added. "All of my neighbors are finding the same thing. I am going to write a letter to Garamendi asking why this is still happening."
Savelsberg's problems and those of her neighbors came too soon to be helped by Pavley's law, which won't go into effect until January.
The last bill, Senate Bill 64 by state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, creates a mediation program to help homeowners settle disputes with their insurance companies.
George Kehrer, an insurance expert who has been coaching area fire victims, said it doesn't end the common insurance-related problems he has seen.
"But it is a step in the right direction," he said. "They may be baby steps, but each step is another step toward protecting future victims."
Fire survivors acknowledge that despite their victory, the fight isn't done.
"All 12 of us will continue at it," said Don Robinson, another of the citizen lobbyists from San Diego. "There are a lot more problems. Underinsurance is a big one. So we will keep doing the good work."
Contact staff writer Erin Massey at (760) 740-5416 or emassey@nctimes.com.
