,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdcj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bd1 #bjbe ,mr4 ,heinrich 7for himself and ,mr4 ,sheehy7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states 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 the effectiveness of those programs 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 enactment of this ,act1 adjusted rates1 policyholder cost-sharing provisions1 or both for those coverages 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 enactment of this ,act1 declined to renew policies for those coverages and the geographic areas to which those declinations applied2 7,c7 the events and economic factors that have contributed to any increased rates described in subparagraph 7,a7 and declinations to renew policies described in subparagraph 7,b72 7,d7 in cases in which private insurers have curtailed the overall wildfire exposure of those insurers1 the extent to which homeowners insurance coverage and commercial property coverage were terminated altogether and the extent to which those coverages are still offered but with coverage for damage from wildfires excluded2 and 7,e7 the extent to which1 and the 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 regulators in response to increased premium rates1 policyholder cost-sharing1 or both for coverage for damage from wildfires1 or the exclusion of that 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 those 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 applicable ,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 wildfires1 or the exclusion of that 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 actions described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,f7 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 those risks2 7,b7 the factors affecting the extent of the ability of private insurers to estimate the 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 the solvency of insurers2 7,e7 the extent to which1 and the areas in which1 risk-adjusted market premiums for wildfire risk limit the affordability or availability of coverage for consumers2 7,f7 the effects of various existing and potential ,state and ,federal ,government responses to help address those challenges and mitigate wildfire risk1 including actions such as-- 7i7 improved forest management policies2 7ii7 obtaining improved data to estimate risk2 7iii7 relocating homeowners from wildfire zones2 7iv7 offsetting a portion of the charged risk-adjusted premiums of insurers 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 the 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 #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report identifying the findings and conclusions of the study conducted under subsection 7a74