California lawmakers have passed the country's first mandatory standards for testing, remediating, and clearing homes damaged by wildfire smoke. The two bills give brokers and carriers a shared framework where none previously existed.
The legislation, AB 1642 and AB 1795, passed the state legislature, and now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. AB 1642 directs the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt emergency health-based regulations by July 1, 2027. Those rules cover lead, asbestos, and other wildfire-related contaminants inside and outside standing structures. AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, requires insurers to follow those standards when processing claims and within defined timeframes.
The two bills are operationally linked: AB 1642 must be enacted before AB 1795 takes effect. Newsom has until the end of September to sign both into law.
The absence of uniform standards has been a direct source of claim friction since the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires. Homeowners reported that different carriers applied different testing methodologies and reached different conclusions about whether a property was safe. Some homes in the Eaton Fire burn zone still tested positive for lead and asbestos after professional remediation had already been completed.
The CDI's task force counted more than 13,000 smoke damage claims on standing homes from those fires alone. Thousands of policyholders remained in additional living expense housing months after the fires were contained, their claims unresolved. Carriers and claimants battled over which testing methods were valid, what remediation thresholds applied, and when a home was safe to reoccupy
AB 1795 directly affects how smoke claims are handled, and brokers need to understand the mechanics. Insurers must now inspect smoke damage claims within 30 days of notice. They cannot cut additional living expenses until a property has been independently cleared as safe for habitation. The legislation also creates training and certification requirements for professionals conducting smoke assessments and remediation work. That tightens the contractor pool brokers and carriers can direct clients toward.
The legislation sharpens what "pre-loss condition" means in practice for brokers placing personal lines in California. Under the new framework, it becomes a defined and testable standard rather than a negotiable concept. Clients need to understand that cleared means cleared by regulated criteria and not by a single contractor's sign-off.
Karen Collins, vice president of property and environmental at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), was one of two insurer representatives on the CDI's nine-month Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force. She said the legislation moves toward clearer guidance on smoke damage claims.
"As regulations are developed, it will be critical that standards are grounded in credible science, valid methodologies, and the best available technical expertise," Collins said. "APCIA remains committed to working in good faith with policymakers, regulators, consumers, and scientific experts to support standards that protect consumers, improve transparency and understanding, and help maintain affordable and available insurance coverage for Californians."
The legislative framework builds on professional guidance developed in parallel. In 2025, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) published an updated Technical Guide for Wildfire Impact Assessments. It received AIHA's Critics' Choice Award as its most consequential peer-reviewed publication of the year.
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), Restoration Industry Association (RIA), and Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) also released a revised Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration that year. Both guides emphasize visual and odor-based assessment, targeted testing when warranted, and property-specific evaluation.
The ANSI-accredited IICRC S700 Standard for Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration is also being revised to more fully address large-scale wildland-urban interface fires. An updated consensus baseline is expected once that work is finalized. Those guidance frameworks now carry statutory force in California, and regulators in other wildfire-exposed states are watching closely.
