Timothy KOPCHAK asked 1 month ago I saw somewhere that when a state of emergency is declared in California, additional time is allowed to submit a requested sworn statement of proof of loss. I understand that it is normally 60 days from the request, but I thought I saw that it may be 90 or 100 days when a state of emergency is declared in California.
Can you point me to the applicable insurance code or regulations that address this?
Hi Timothy, You’re right to ask for the specific authority, and thank you for taking a close look at the regulations.
In California, there is no regulation in the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations (Title 10, CCR § 2695.9) that extends a proof-of-loss deadline to 90 days simply because a State of Emergency has been declared. That extension does not come from the regulations.
Instead, the authority comes from the California Insurance Code.
When a loss is related to a Governor-declared State of Emergency, California Insurance Code § 2051.5(b)(3) applies. That statute provides:
“In the event of a loss relating to a state of emergency, an insurer shall not require the insured to provide proof of loss less than 100 days after the loss.”
In practical terms, this means that although policies often reference a 60-day proof-of-loss requirement, that deadline cannot be enforced if it would require submission sooner than 100 days after the loss when a State of Emergency has been declared. The statute also requires insurers to grant additional extensions of time for good cause when delays are beyond the policyholder’s control.
You can review the statute directly on California’s official legislative website here:
👉 California Insurance Code § 2051.5
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS§ionNum=2051.5
This provision was enacted to recognize the real-world challenges disaster survivors face and to ensure that proof-of-loss requirements are applied reasonably in catastrophe situations.
Warmly, UP Staff