,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eej  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #af1 #bjbe  
,ms4 ,waters 7for herself and ,mr4      
,sherman7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,financial ,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
require the ,government ,accountability 
,office to conduct a study regarding    
insurance coverage for damages from     
wildfires1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,wildfire ,insurance ,coverage      
,study ,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,,gao study  
regarding insurance for wildfire damage 
7a7 ,study ,the ,comptroller ,general of
 the ,united ,states1 in consultation   
with the ,director of the ,federal      
,insurance ,office and ,state insurance 
regulators1 shall conduct a study to    
analyze and determine the following3    
7#a7 ,risk assessment ,the extent and   
nature of wildfire risk in the ,united  
,states1 including-- 7,a7 identifying   
trends in declarations for wildfires    

under the ,fire ,management ,assistance 
grant program under section #dbj of the 
,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief 
and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eahg71 with respect to       
geography1 costs1 probability1 and      
frequency of wildfire disasters2  7,b7  
identifying mitigation practices that   
would assist in reducing costs and risks
 for insurance policies covering damages
 from wildfires2  7,c7 identifying      
existing programs of the ,federal       
,government and ,state governments that 
measure wildfire risk and assess their  
effectiveness in forecasting wildfire   
events and informing wildfire response2 
and  7,d7 analyzing and assessing the   
need for a national map for measuring   
and quantifying wildfire risk4  7#b7    
,existing state of coverage ,with       
respect to the existing state of        
homeowners insurance coverage and       
commercial property insurance coverage  
for damage from wildfires in the ,united
 ,states--  7,a7 the extent to which    

private insurers have1 during the       
#aj-year period ending on the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 adjusted    
rates1 policyholder cost-sharing        
provisions1 or both for such coverage   
7after adjusting for inflation7 and the 
geographic areas in which adjusted      
rates1 policyholder cost-sharing1 or    
both have increased2  7,b7 the extent to
 which private insurers have1 during the
 #aj-year period ending on the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 declined to 
renew policies for such coverages and   
the geographic areas to which such      
declinations applied2  7,c7 the events  
and economic factors that have          
contributed to any such increased rates 
and declinations to renew policies2     
7,d7 in cases in which private insurers 
have curtailed their overall wildfire   
exposure1 the extent to which homeowners
 insurance coverage and commercial      
property coverage were terminated       
altogether and the extent to which such 
coverages are still offered but with    

coverage for damage from wildfires      
excluded2 and  7,e7 the extent to which1
 and circumstances under which1 private 
insurers are continuing to provide      
coverage for damage from wildfires-- 7i7
 in general2  7ii7 subject to a         
condition that mitigation activities are
 taken1 such as hardening of properties 
and landscaping against wildfires1 by   
property owners1 ,state or local        
governments1 park or forest authorities1
 or other land management authorities2  
and  7iii7 subject to any other         
conditions4  7#c7 ,regulatory responses 
,with respect to actions taken by ,state
 insurance regulatory agencies in       
response to increased premium rates1    
policyholder cost-sharing1 or both for  
coverage for damage from wildfires or   
exclusion of such coverage from         
homeowners insurance policies-- 7,a7 the
 extent to which ,states have leveraged 
their respective authorities to regulate
 rate increases2  7,b7 the extent to    
which ,states have enacted any moratoria

 on such rate and policyholder          
cost-sharing increases or exclusions and
 on non-renewals2  7,c7 the extent to   
which ,states require homeowners        
insurance coverage to include coverage  
for damage from wildfires or make sales 
of homeowners insurance coverage        
contingent on the sale1 underwriting1 or
 financing of separate wildfire coverage
 in the ,state2  7,d7 the extent to     
which ,states have established ,state   
residual market insurance entities1     
reinsurance programs1 or similar        
mechanisms for coverage of damages from 
wildfires2  7,e7 any other actions      
,states or localities have taken in     
response to increased premium rates1    
policyholder cost-sharing1 or both for  
coverage for damage from wildfires or   
exclusion of such coverage from         
homeowners policies1 including forestry 
and wildfire management policies and    
subsidies for premiums and cost-sharing 
for wildfire coverage2  7,f7 the effects
 of actions taken by ,states on the     

availability1 coverage level1 and       
affordability of homeowners insurance   
coverage2 and  7,g7 the effectiveness   
and sustainability of such actions taken
 by ,states4  7#d7 ,challenges in       
underwriting wildfire risk ,with respect
 to the challenges faced by private     
insurers underwriting wildfire risk1    
what is or are-- 7,a7 the correlated    
risks and the extent of such risks2     
7,b7 the factors affecting the extent of
 private insurers' ability to estimate  
magnitude of future likelihood of       
wildfires and of expected damages from  
wildfires2  7,c7 the effects of the need
 to increase more affordable housing    
options1 which may contribute to        
increased homebuilding in more remote1  
heavily-wooded areas with higher        
wildfire risk2  7,d7 the potential for  
wildfire losses sufficiently large to   
jeopardize insurers' solvency2  7,e7 the
 extent to which1 and areas in which1   
risk-adjusted market premiums for       
wildfire risk limit affordability or    

availability of coverage for consumers2 
7,f7 the effects of various existing and
 potential ,state and ,federal          
,government responses to help address   
these challenges and mitigate wildfire  
risk1 including actions such as-- 7i7   
improved forest management policies2    
7ii7 improved data to estimate risk2    
7iii7 relocating homeowners from        
wildfire zones2  7iv7 offsetting a      
portion of insurers' charged            
risk-adjusted premiums with means-tested
 government affordability programs for  
lower income homeowners2  7v7           
encouraging the increased use of private
 reinsurance and other risk-sharing     
mechanisms by insurers to better        
diversify wildfire risk2 and  7vi7      
developing programs that offset the     
costs of wildfire risk for consumers and
 industry2  7,g7 the available policy   
responses if private insurers exit the  
wildfire coverage market and the        
potential advantages and disadvantages  
of each such response2  7,h7 the effects

 of the availability and affordability  
of wildfire coverage1 policyholder      
cost-sharing1 or both1 on-- 7i7 local   
communities that are disproportionately 
vulnerable to wildfires1 including on   
low- or moderate-income property owners 
and small businesses2  7ii7 rebuilding  
in communities previously damaged by    
wildfires2  7iii7 the availability and  
affordability of housing supply2 and    
7iv7 the demand for wildfire insurance  
coverage by property owners2  7,i7 the  
effects of potential ,state prohibitions
 on termination of policies due to      
wildfire claims on insurer solvency2 and
  7,j7 the manner in which private      
insurers are modeling or estimating     
future wildfire risk4  7b7 ,report ,not 
later than the expiration of the        
#ab-month period beginning on the date  
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
the ,congress a report identifying the  
findings and conclusions of the study   
conducted pursuant to subsection 7a74