Is this the solution to California’s soaring insurance prices due to wildfire risk?
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Is this the solution to California’s soaring insurance prices due to wildfire risk?

LA Times  

In the past several years, homeowners across the state have been either burdened with extremely high insurance premiums or have struggled to find coverage at all. Earlier this month State Farm’s cancellations of 30,000 homeowner policies mostly in high wildfire risk areas, took effect. She is one of the many California homeowners struggling to maintain home insurance as costs increase and policies are dropped due to wildfire risk. As a trade-off, Lara says companies that use these models will be required to increase service in distressed areas with a high wildfire risk and a high concentration of FAIR plan policies. In recent rate filings, Allstate, Farmers and State Farm cited a modeled wildfire risk score as the basis for not renewing policies.

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History of this topic

California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market
1 week, 3 days ago

California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market

LA Times  

Flames engulf a home on Old Coach Drive in Camarillo during the Mountain fire in November. The regulations that take effect Jan. 2 arose out of a broad agreement Lara reached with the industry that gave insurers regulatory concessions, including the use of the computer models, in exchange for a commitment by large insurers such as State Farm, Farmers and …

Wildfires are coming to the Southeast. Can landowners mitigate the risk in time?
2 months ago

Wildfires are coming to the Southeast. Can landowners mitigate the risk in time?

Salon  

Courtney Steed often burns barefoot. “You have these dynamics playing out in the region, then you throw in changes in climate and potentially warmer and drier conditions,” Donovan said, “and you set yourself up for more destructive wildfires.” Such dynamics played out in April, 2023, when a blaze in North Carolina’s Croatan National Forest jumped from 7,000 acres to 32,000 …

Insurance commissioner prohibits policy cancellations for fire victims
3 months ago

Insurance commissioner prohibits policy cancellations for fire victims

LA Times  

A tattered U.S. flag hangs Sept. 11 on a Lake Elsinore property where a home and vintage cars were destroyed by the Airport fire. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has barred insurance companies from canceling residential coverage of some 750,000 policyholders affected by the Airport, Bridge and Line fires. The order issued Thursday protects residents within the fire zones or …

California bill would abolish state fire hazard rankings; ‘true insanity,’ critics say
4 months, 1 week ago

California bill would abolish state fire hazard rankings; ‘true insanity,’ critics say

LA Times  

A legislative proposal to overhaul California’s decades-old wildfire mapping system is generating intense debate, with critics saying it threatens to fundamentally reshape the state’s fire and housing policies and increase development in fire-prone areas. Senate Bill 610 seeks to repeal current rules that classify state and local lands into “moderate,” “high” and “very high” fire hazard severity zones — a …

With fires burning again, is California becoming uninsurable?
6 months ago

With fires burning again, is California becoming uninsurable?

LA Times  

Thursday marks the beginning of summer, but early wildfires have already scorched the outskirts of L.A. and the Bay Area. While the giant wildfires of 2017 and 2018 had a huge impact, requiring insurers to pay claims equivalent to more than 20 years of profits, the state’s insurance problems predate the fires. California’s failure to update the old rules governing …

State regulators identify wildfire neighborhoods targeted for insurance relief
6 months, 1 week ago

State regulators identify wildfire neighborhoods targeted for insurance relief

LA Times  

California regulators Wednesday disclosed which areas of the state insurers will have to cover if they want to take advantage of financial incentives intended to resolve the homeowners’ insurance crisis. In Los Angeles County, those areas include ZIP Codes in the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains and parts of the Santa Clarita Valley, according to draft regulations released …

Editorial: California’s next affordable housing crisis is the rising cost of property insurance
6 months, 1 week ago

Editorial: California’s next affordable housing crisis is the rising cost of property insurance

LA Times  

Interior patio at Amani Apartments, build with funds from Proposition HHH to provide 53 permanent apartment homes to seniors who formerly experienced homelessness that opened in 2022. Now a growing problem for the state’s homeowners has hit affordable housing providers especially hard: skyrocketing property insurance rates. In the last couple of years, organizations that build and maintain affordable housing report …

Growing wildfire risk leaves states grappling with how to keep property insurers from fleeing
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Growing wildfire risk leaves states grappling with how to keep property insurers from fleeing

Associated Press  

BOISE, Idaho — Months after a catastrophic fire burned more than 2,200 homes in Hawaii, some property owners are getting more bad news — their property insurance won’t be renewed because their insurance company has deemed the risk too high. “I think most of the insurers, you know, I’m very grateful that they’re committed to the Hawaii market, so we …

State Farm is NOT there: California's largest insurer will discontinue coverage of 72,000 homes in the state over inflation and risk of CATASTROPHES like wildfires and floods
9 months ago

State Farm is NOT there: California's largest insurer will discontinue coverage of 72,000 homes in the state over inflation and risk of CATASTROPHES like wildfires and floods

Daily Mail  

California's largest insurance company will stop offering insurance to 72,000 homes across the state due to the increased risk of natural disasters and the effects of inflation. State Farm General cited soaring costs, the increasing risk of catastrophes like wildfires and outdated regulations as reasons it won´t renew the policies. State Farm will discontinue coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments …

Why is it so hard for California drivers to get insurance?
1 year ago

Why is it so hard for California drivers to get insurance?

LA Times  

As if high gas prices weren’t making life miserable enough, California drivers are being buffeted by higher auto insurance premiums — if they can find coverage at all. Big name insurers have been saying for months that they “can’t get the rates they need from the state Department of Insurance,” said Mike D’Arelli, executive director of American Agents Alliance, a …

Wildfire-prone California to consider new rules for property insurance pricing
1 year, 3 months ago

Wildfire-prone California to consider new rules for property insurance pricing

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will let insurance companies consider climate change when setting their prices, the state’s chief regulator announced Thursday, a move aimed at preventing insurers from fleeing the state over fears of massive losses from wildfires and other natural disasters. On Thursday, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the state will write new rules to let insurers look …

The scramble to fix California’s home insurance mess failed. Here’s what will happen next
1 year, 3 months ago

The scramble to fix California’s home insurance mess failed. Here’s what will happen next

LA Times  

The remains of a home smolders during the Caldor fire in Twin Bridges, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2021. Since the beginning of the year, companies representing more than half of California’s $12-billion home insurance market have stopped or limited new policies, citing ballooning costs and risks. Since the beginning of the year, companies representing more than half of California’s $12-billion …

Column: Time to panic? The home insurance market in California is collapsing because of climate change
1 year, 3 months ago

Column: Time to panic? The home insurance market in California is collapsing because of climate change

LA Times  

As another legislative session draws to a close in Sacramento, the problem lawmakers failed to fix is one of the most urgent facing Californians: the slow-moving collapse of the property insurance market as costs from climate disasters mount. Throughout the United States, in different geographies, we’re reaching a point where climate change is driving to an uninsurable future,” said Dave …

Climate change boosts risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25%, study says
1 year, 3 months ago

Climate change boosts risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25%, study says

LA Times  

Sierra Cobras fire crew member Gustavo Cisneros keeps an eye on a hillside as flames roil the Sequoia National Forest during the 2021 Windy fire. “So it’s important to look at more direct on-the-ground solutions to the problem like fuel reduction.” Although previous studies have looked at the impact of climate change on broader metrics like annual area burned, as …

California insurance market rattled by withdrawal of major companies
1 year, 6 months ago

California insurance market rattled by withdrawal of major companies

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Two insurance industry giants have pulled back from California’s home insurance marketplace, saying that increasing wildfire risk and soaring construction costs have prompted them to stop writing new policies in the nation’s most populous state. State Farm announced last week it would stop accepting applications for all business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance, citing …

Editorial: Climate change is making California more expensive. Home insurance is the latest bellwether
1 year, 6 months ago

Editorial: Climate change is making California more expensive. Home insurance is the latest bellwether

LA Times  

It’s bad news that California’s largest home insurance provider, State Farm, decided it’s too risky and expensive to sell new policies in the state. It’s even worse news that State Farm simply publicized what other insurance companies have been doing quietly for several years by refusing to renew policies and pulling out of communities at risk for wildfires. The company …

California to require insurance discounts for property owners who reduce wildfire risk
2 years, 2 months ago

California to require insurance discounts for property owners who reduce wildfire risk

LA Times  

Firefighters battle the Coastal fire at Coronado Pointe in Laguna Niguel in May. New rules mandate that insurance companies reward consumers who take wildfire safety and mitigation actions under the state’s Safer From Wildfires framework, the Department of Insurance announced Monday. Under the new rules, insurance companies will have 180 days to submit rate filings that incorporate the wildfire safety …

California aims to lower fire insurance costs for homeowners
2 years, 3 months ago

California aims to lower fire insurance costs for homeowners

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California moved Wednesday to become the first state to lower insurance costs for property owners who make improvements to reduce their fire risk, the state’s insurance commissioner said as wildfires again flared across the heat-stricken state. Lara said in a statement that the new regulations “will help more Californians find insurance they can afford” and “will save …

How a high-risk California town learned to live with fire
2 years, 4 months ago

How a high-risk California town learned to live with fire

Al Jazeera  

As climate change heightens increasingly severe blazes in US, Topanga has taken steps to reduce its vulnerability. In 2018, the Woolsey Fire burned nearly 40,500 hectares in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Topanga, killing three people and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. California has more than 75 towns and cities where at least 90 percent of residents live …

Proposed regulations would compel insurers to account for wildfire mitigation efforts
2 years, 9 months ago

Proposed regulations would compel insurers to account for wildfire mitigation efforts

LA Times  

A firefighting helicopter drops water on homes in Irvine Cove to protect them from the Emerald fire on Feb. 10. Insurance providers in California will have to incorporate proactive wildfire mitigation efforts into their rates for homeowners and businesses under proposed new regulations, state officials announced Friday. “Holding insurance companies accountable for accurately rating wildfire risk in the premiums they …

Wildfires are getting worse across the globe. How does California compare?
2 years, 9 months ago

Wildfires are getting worse across the globe. How does California compare?

LA Times  

An alarming new United Nations report warns that the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 50% globally by the end of the century, and that governments are largely unprepared for the burgeoning crisis. “We hear that people in D.C. think of fire as a Western issue, or a Californian issue, but it really isn’t — it’s a global …

California sets home, community standards to lower fire risk
2 years, 10 months ago

California sets home, community standards to lower fire risk

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A fire-resistant roof, at least 5 feet of defensible space around a home, a clearly defined evacuation route in a neighborhood and the removal of vegetation overgrowth in a community are some of the new statewide insurance standards to reduce the wildfire risk of older homes, California officials announced Monday. Dubbed “Safer from Wildfires,” the new standards …

If you live in a fire-prone part of California, this road map can help you save on insurance
2 years, 10 months ago

If you live in a fire-prone part of California, this road map can help you save on insurance

LA Times  

With the fire season growing longer and wildfires increasing in intensity, Californians living in fire-prone areas are having a harder time finding affordable insurance for their homes — if they can find coverage at all. For more detailed suggestions, consult Cal Fire’s “Hardening Your Home” site, its low-cost retrofit list and the University of California’s preparing your home webpage. The …

California hit by record-breaking fire destruction: ‘Climate change is real, it’s bad’
3 years, 5 months ago

California hit by record-breaking fire destruction: ‘Climate change is real, it’s bad’

LA Times  

Plumes of smoke rise above Frenchman Lake as the Sugar fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex, burns in Plumas National Forest on Thursday. Though last year was the worst wildfire season California has seen — with over 4 million acres burned — the potential to surpass it is there, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff. In Southern California, all three …

Is Your Home At Risk Of Wildfire In A Changing Climate? 6 Questions To Ask
4 years, 2 months ago

Is Your Home At Risk Of Wildfire In A Changing Climate? 6 Questions To Ask

NPR  

Is Your Home At Risk Of Wildfire In A Changing Climate? 6 Questions To Ask Enlarge this image toggle caption Kaz Fantone/NPR Kaz Fantone/NPR Bigger and more destructive wildfires are on the rise in the U.S., driven in great part by a changing climate. So check with your local fire station, agency or community wildfire group, known as a fire …

Opinion: Wildfires are increasingly destructive. We need to reevaluate how and where we build our homes
4 years, 2 months ago

Opinion: Wildfires are increasingly destructive. We need to reevaluate how and where we build our homes

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Alice Hill is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations and previously served as senior director for resilience policy in the Obama White House. In fact, a recent analysis of some areas that burned in Australia earlier this year revealed that “once a building catches fire, regardless of …

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