Commercial property insurance: vehicle barrier discount.

The Insurance Rate Reduction and Reform Act of 1988, an initiative measure enacted by Proposition 103, as approved by the voters at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, prohibits specified insurance rates, including commercial property insurance rates, from being approved or remaining in effect that are excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of the act. Existing law authorizes an insurer to consider the installation of vehicle barriers as a safety measure and authorizes an insurer to provide or offer a discount on the property owner's insurance covering damage or loss to the covered commercial property or liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the commercial property relative to the reduced risk to the property resulting from the installation of the barriers, if the discount provided or offered is consistent with the requirements of Proposition 103. Existing law defines a vehicle barrier for purposes of this provision to mean a safety device that meets, at a minimum, the vehicle impact protection standards as provided by the State Fire Marshal and adopted by the California Building Standards Commission and that is installed to protect persons located within, in, or on the property of, buildings, or to protect pedestrians, from collisions into those buildings by motor vehicles. This bill would include within that definition a vehicle barrier that meets those vehicle impact protection standards and that is installed to protect persons located in an adjacent outdoor area that is covered by the commercial property insurance policy and that is used for the purpose of outdoor dining, or to protect pedestrians, from collisions into those outdoor areas by motor vehicles.