(a) In the event of a covered loss relating to a state of emergency, as defined in § 8558 of the Government Code, the following special provisions shall apply under a residential property insurance policy:

(1) If an insured has made a claim for additional living expenses related to a total loss, an insurer shall, upon request by an insured, render an advance payment of no less than four months of living expenses. Additional payment for additional living expenses shall be payable upon proper proof following the advance period.

(2) If an insured has made a claim for contents related to a total loss of a primary residence, an insurer shall not require that the insured use a company-specific inventory form if the insured can provide an inventory using a form that contains substantially the same information. This subdivision does not limit the authority of an insurer to seek additional reasonable information from an insured upon receipt of an inventory form submitted by an insured.

(3) If an insured has made a claim for contents related to a total loss of a primary residence, an insurer shall accept an inventory that includes groupings of categories of personal property, including clothing, shoes, books, food items, CDs, DVDs, or other categories of items for which it would be impractical to separately list each individual item claimed.

(b) This section applies to a claim that arises on or after January 1, 2021.

(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 261, Sec. 3. (SB 872) Effective January 1, 2021.)