National Association of Insurance Commissioners to create a Disaster Preparedness Guide as it advances its National Resilience Strategy

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) highlighted catastrophe preparedness as a priority initiative for state insurance regulators and set out work to advance the NAIC National Resilience Strategy adopted in 2024. In response to Hurricane Helene and major wildfires, the NAIC plans to develop a Disaster Preparedness Guide compiling best practices for disaster readiness and recovery. The update points to a range of state-level consumer protection measures being used to support claims handling and recovery, including deploying staff to disaster recovery centres, targeted consumer guidance and outreach, and enhanced transparency on claims progress. Examples cited include Kentucky’s disaster resource pages and California’s post-wildfire consumer workshops (supporting more than 10,000 survivors) and a wildfire “claims tracker”, as well as South Carolina’s “insurance villages” and dedicated Helene recovery portal. The NAIC also highlighted resilience-focused incentives and grant approaches tied to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Fortified standard (including Alabama’s Strengthen Alabama Homes and a Minnesota incentive law), proposed legislation such as California’s Safe Homes Act and a federal Disaster Resilience and Coverage Act, laws in California and Colorado requiring advance payments after wildfire losses, and expanded fraud-prevention efforts including state fraud hotlines and reporting portals.