Portola Valley Update June 22, 2023

Town Hall Doors Closed on Fridays

The Town Council approved physically closing Town Hall’s doors every Friday until September 15th, 2023. Staff will still be working but the lobby will be closed to visitors. The Planning & Building Department has virtual appointments for services that include meetings with a planner, building/planning permit submittals, and more. The PV Connect system is available for submitting service requests. You can still reach staff by email and phone.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - What’s Going On With Insurance Rate Filings?

When the California Dept of Insurance (CDI) announced its new regulation requiring insurers to provide discounts for wildfire mitigation, we all wondered if and how it would work. So recently, we became anxious when State Farm announced that they had stopped writing new homeowners policies. CDI characterized it as a temporary pause, but is it? Which insurers are willing to remain in California, where 1/3 of homes are in the WUI?

To help answer this question, it turns out that all the insurance rate filings are public information that is posted weekly in Rate Filing List spreadsheets. Each row in the spreadsheet links to an individual rating plan, of which there are thousands. You can download a plan and read CDI’s responses to each application. You can subscribe to CDI email updates and be notified of rate regulation public notices.

In browsing the lists, I made some observations, but note that this information could all change as the Rate filing plans are finalized:

• Insurers are asking for 40-75% rate increases
• Insurers calculate discounts for each mitigation, which could reduce a policy’s wildfire surcharge by 5-10%. Even with mitigation discounts, it is obvious that the cost of homeowners insurance is going to climb.
• CSAA, Amica, and Allstate are using Zesty.ai to compute a property’s wildfire score. Hartford is using HazardHub.
• American National excludes the 94028 zip code from new business
• Western Mutual sets its maximum building coverage at $1M and lot size at 1 acre

It appears that only a couple of rating plans have been approved so far. If a number appears in the “Overall Rate %” column of a Rating List spreadsheet, that rate filing was approved with that specified rate increase.

So what is the outlook for homeowners insurance in California? The FAIR plan is the State’s insurer of last resort for about 3% of homeowners. At a Jun-9-2023 United Policyholders webinar, a panelist noted that homes greater than 7,500 sq ft will have to go to a Non-admitted insurer, also known as E&S, or Excess and Surplus lines. Non-admitted insurers are lightly regulated by CDI and are not backed up by the insolvency fund provided by the CIGA.

For more information or help, call CDI at 1-800-927-4357, find an insurance broker, or check the resources at United Policyholders. And as UP says, do everything you can to mitigate your property.

What can we do?

The major reasons for today’s insurance problems are out of our control: climate change and skyrocketing construction costs. But individually, we can practice prevention. Learn about wildfire readiness, mitigate our properties, start a Firewise community, and spread the word to neighbors. Together we can be stronger and more wildfire resilient.

Conservation Committee- Tip of the Month

Protect our ground-nesting birds while increasing fire safety

California Quail (Callipepla californica) and other ground nesting birds are nesting now and use underbrush and dense vegetation to do this. This is exactly what we are supposed to be clearing to increase fire safety.

You can accommodate the Quail and Oregon juncos and other ground nesting birds while reducing vegetation on your land if you pay attention.

The quail will burst out of the underbrush to let you know If you are getting near an area where they are nesting. Use that area as one of your “islands” of vegetation that we have heard so much about. Leave these active areas alone, they will become key locations for wildlife to get refuge. But clear around and between these islands (being careful to observe for any activity in the area).

When these vegetated islands are located away from the house they also accomplish the task of keeping our native predators away from the house.

Tell your gardener to do the same and we can help keep this iconic bird common.

Additional information on quail from our friends at Edgewood: https://friendsofedgewood.org/california-quail

And the Conservation Committee’s guide to Understory Habitat and Defensible Space: https://www.portolavalley.net/home/showpublisheddocument/15183/637728279341370000

Town Residents Received Important Zonehaven Number in the Mail

This weekend, residents of our Town received a letter in their mailboxes containing important information regarding emergency preparedness. Enclosed in the letter were two essential items aimed at enhancing safety measures for all community members.

Included in the letter was a 3X4 static cling sticker personalized with a specific Zonehaven number. This unique number is based on each individual's address in the Zonehaven database. To ensure accuracy, recipients are encouraged to confirm their Zonehaven number by visiting http://aware.zonehaven.com/search and entering their address. This simple step will verify if the assigned number is correct for their location.

The static cling sticker is designed for convenient placement and can adhere to various surfaces, including glass, smooth plastic, and metal. Residents have the option to leave the sticker as is or peel it from the base for application. ( it can be easily removed and moved to a different service)

Alongside the static cling sticker, recipients also discovered a smaller card containing their Zonehaven number. This card is perfect for attaching to a luggage tag and can be conveniently placed in a go-bag. Residents are advised to duplicate this card and attach it to all family go-bags. By doing so, each household will have their assigned Zonehaven number readily available in case of an emergency.

This initiative aims to enhance the overall emergency response capabilities of our Town and ensure the safety of all residents. It is essential for everyone to take a few moments to confirm their Zonehaven number and properly utilize the static cling sticker and card for maximum preparedness.

Remember, preparedness is key in any emergency situation, and by taking these small yet significant steps, we can all contribute to a safer and more resilient community.

This was brought to you by the hard work of our Emergency Preparedness Committee, the Town of Portola Valley and financial contributions from the Woodside Fire Protection Foundation