Why is it so hard for California drivers to get insurance?
1 year, 3 months 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 national association of independent insurance agents and brokers. “Lara has recently really pushed back on the intervention process because it contributes so dramatically to the cost and time involved in getting rate filings approved,” D’Arelli said. “And it’s not just because able to rip us off like they used to in California, but because Proposition 103 has become a model for reform all over the country.” Rosenfield also said that blaming Proposition 103 is preposterous, and that not adhering to the law will make auto insurance even less affordable.

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History of this topic

California’s insurance commissioner faces criticism over ties to industry
1 month, 1 week ago

California’s insurance commissioner faces criticism over ties to industry

LA Times  

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announces a plan in 2023 aimed at keeping insurance companies from leaving the wildfire-prone state. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara faces questions after L.A. fires California’s insurance market was already distressed as major firms pulled back from the state, ceasing to write new policies and declining to renew existing ones in communities deemed too at risk …

L.A. wildfires up the pressure on California’s insurance commissioner over industry ties
1 month, 1 week ago

L.A. wildfires up the pressure on California’s insurance commissioner over industry ties

LA Times  

It has been more than a month since the harrowing wildfire swept through Pacific Palisades, and Marc Hara knows he should be grateful. “I’m so screwed.” VIDEO | 02:04 L.A. wildfires up the pressure on California’s insurance commissioner Share Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! “His regulations and his …

As insurance companies leave high-risk areas, many turn to 'last resort' insurance
2 months, 1 week ago

As insurance companies leave high-risk areas, many turn to 'last resort' insurance

NPR  

As insurance companies leave high-risk areas, many turn to 'last resort' insurance As insurance companies stop covering high-risk properties, or they leave markets altogether, more than 30 states now offer so-called "last resort" insurance. HELLER: Well, these programs were developed initially in the 1960s, and they were supposed to be kind of a support for the insurance system where there …

How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S.
2 months, 2 weeks ago

How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S.

NPR  

How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S. toggle caption Agustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images As the wildfires in Los Angeles tear through hillsides, raze neighborhoods and displace residents, it's too early to know how vast the destruction will be when the last of the flames is put out. Those final, unknown …

The LA wildfires will cause chaos for California’s home insurance market
2 months, 2 weeks ago

The LA wildfires will cause chaos for California’s home insurance market

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The wildfires that destroyed …

The Los Angeles Fires Will Put California’s New Insurance Rules to the Test
55 years, 2 months ago

The Los Angeles Fires Will Put California’s New Insurance Rules to the Test

Wired  

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Over the past five years, California has become a poster child for what climate-fueled weather disasters can do to a state’s home insurance market. “With input from thousands of residents throughout California, this reform balances protecting consumers with the need to strengthen our market against climate …

Home insurers under fire for policy cancellations as LA burns
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Home insurers under fire for policy cancellations as LA burns

Raw Story  

As deadly wildfire incinerated more than 1,000 homes and other structures in Los Angeles County this week, insurance companies are sparking outrage for having recently canceled homeowners' policies across California—including in some of the areas hit hardest by the current blazes. State Farm, one of California's largest insurers, announced last year that it would not renew 30,000 home insurance policies …

California’s insurance is in crisis. The solution will cost homeowners a ton
2 months, 2 weeks ago

California’s insurance is in crisis. The solution will cost homeowners a ton

CNN  

New York CNN — Lynne Levin-Guzman stood in the front yard of her 90-year-old parents’ home in Los Angeles County, California, trying to protect it with a garden hose — because their insurance company no longer would. The problem of canceled policies has forced some homeowners to go without fire insurance or to use a program set up by the …

California overhauled its insurance system. Then Los Angeles caught fire.
2 months, 2 weeks ago

California overhauled its insurance system. Then Los Angeles caught fire.

Raw Story  

On Tuesday, after a ferocious Santa Ana windstorm blew through Southern California, a severe brush fire broke out in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, burning 1,000 structures and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate as of Wednesday afternoon. “With input from thousands of residents throughout California, this reform balances protecting consumers with the need to …

New law increases California’s auto insurance minimums
2 months, 3 weeks ago

New law increases California’s auto insurance minimums

LA Times  

Motorists make their way through Los Angeles International Airport in November. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1107, also known as the Protect California Drivers Act, into law which increases the minimum auto liability limits. Before Protect California Drivers Act went into effect, the following minimum liability requirements were: $15,000 for injuries or death to one person. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara …

California Allows Reinsurance Cost in Rates as Fire Worry Grows
2 months, 4 weeks ago

California Allows Reinsurance Cost in Rates as Fire Worry Grows

Live Mint  

-- California approved new rules that let insurers account for reinsurance costs when they set rates, the last major step in a regulatory overhaul designed to halt an exodus of carriers amid rising concern over wildfires. All other states in the US already allow for such costs and reinsurance is the primary strategy insurers use to continue providing coverage in …

California will soon require insurers to increase home coverage in wildfire-prone areas
Trending News
2 months, 4 weeks ago

California will soon require insurers to increase home coverage in wildfire-prone areas

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance companies that stopped providing home coverage to hundreds of thousands of Californians in recent years as wildfires became more destructive will have to again provide policies in fire-prone areas if they want to keep doing business in California under a state regulation announced Monday. The rule will require home insurers to offer coverage in high-risk areas, …

State takes final step to fix California’s troubled home insurance market
2 months, 4 weeks ago

State takes final step to fix California’s troubled home insurance market

LA Times  

The state released another regulation Monday aimed at easing California’s home insurance crisis that will allow insurers to charge homeowners higher premiums to protect themselves from catastrophic wildfire claims. The regulation was praised by the American Property Casualty Insurance Assn., a trade group for home, auto and business insurers, which called the step “one of several critically needed reforms to …

Got an apartment and need some renters insurance? Be prepared to pay more.
3 months ago

Got an apartment and need some renters insurance? Be prepared to pay more.

LA Times  

The Barrington Plaza apartment complex in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sawtelle on May 15, 2023. “We’re seeing the rates go up significantly,” said Rick Dinger, president of Crescenta Valley Insurance, an independent brokerage in Glendale, who calls the current business environment “the new world order for rental insurance.” Renters insurance policies, many of which cost less than $200 a …

California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market
3 months, 2 weeks 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 …

Insurance commissioner prohibits policy cancellations for fire victims
6 months, 1 week 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 auto insurance rates are skyrocketing: Here’s why and how to save
7 months, 1 week ago

California auto insurance rates are skyrocketing: Here’s why and how to save

LA Times  

The cost of auto claims has soared across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Business Californians, brace for another bill increase: your car insurance California car insurance regulators approved some big rate increases in the last six months after a long COVID break. Business Surging auto insurance rates squeeze drivers, …

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

Editorial: California’s next affordable housing crisis is the rising cost of property insurance
9 months, 2 weeks 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 …

Column: Unaffordable homeowner’s insurance is leaving Californians exposed to the elements
10 months ago

Column: Unaffordable homeowner’s insurance is leaving Californians exposed to the elements

LA Times  

An air tanker makes fire retardant drop behind homes in Chino Hills in 2020. “It’s one of the biggest challenges facing this state right now,” says new state Senate leader Mike McGuire, whose mostly rural district includes North Coast forests and world-class wineries. It’s so expensive it’s ridiculous,” says Jodi Goodenough, who lost fire insurance for her modern Placer County …

California’s home insurance crisis: What went wrong, how it can be fixed and what owners can do
1 year ago

California’s home insurance crisis: What went wrong, how it can be fixed and what owners can do

LA Times  

Sheri Marchetti-Perrault and James Benton embrace as they sift through the remains of their home, which was destroyed by the McKinley fire near Yreka, Calif. The crisis reached new heights last week when leading insurer State Farm General announced that it wouldn’t renew 72,000 property owner policies statewide, joining Farmers, Allstate and other companies in either not writing or limiting …

State insurance commissioner says companies are delaying policies, denying discounts
1 year, 3 months ago

State insurance commissioner says companies are delaying policies, denying discounts

LA Times  

Responding to consumer complaints about auto insurance coverage, the state insurance commissioner said Thursday that insurers could face penalties for creating unlawful barriers for California drivers. The bulletin also reminded companies that they must offer coverage to all motorists in California who meet the state’s legal definition of “Good Drivers.” “These alleged passive-aggressive tactics by insurance companies to slow down …

Things to know about California’s new proposed rules for insurance companies
1 year, 6 months ago

Things to know about California’s new proposed rules for insurance companies

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Months after California’s home insurance market was rattled by major companies pausing or restricting their coverage, the state’s top regulator said Thursday that he would write new rules aimed at persuading insurers to continue doing business in the nation’s most populous state. Seven of the 12 largest insurance companies by market share in California have either paused …

Wildfire-prone California to consider new rules for property insurance pricing
1 year, 6 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, 6 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 …

California insurance market rattled by withdrawal of major companies
1 year, 9 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 …

Californians, brace for another bill increase: your car insurance
2 years, 1 month ago

Californians, brace for another bill increase: your car insurance

LA Times  

Insurers said costs have risen because Californians are driving more miles, driving less safely and wrecking cars that are increasingly expensive to repair. “These insurance companies still owe consumers from the COVID era,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica nonprofit that Californians are paying an average of $2,291 in car insurance premiums this year, up $101 …

California to require insurance discounts for property owners who reduce wildfire risk
2 years, 5 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, 6 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 …

Democrats dominate fierce fight in California insurance commissioner’s race
2 years, 9 months ago

Democrats dominate fierce fight in California insurance commissioner’s race

LA Times  

California voters will soon choose a leader for the state agency that wields significant power over home, auto and other insurance policies purchased by millions of consumers, filling an elected post that will be particularly influential in helping homeowners in wildfire-prone areas maintain their insurance. But, most people know nothing about the office or the candidates until they look at …

Endorsement: Marc Levine for state insurance commissioner
2 years, 11 months ago

Endorsement: Marc Levine for state insurance commissioner

LA Times  

Ricardo Lara’s first year as California insurance commissioner — the elected office charged with regulating the state’s $310-billion insurance industry — was an ethical disaster. Opinion Editorial: Californians deserve better than Ricardo Lara is giving them Ricardo Lara has served as insurance commissioner for not quite eight months, and in that short time he’s managed to cast a serious pall. …

California bans insurers from dropping coverage to another 200,000 fire-prone homes
5 years, 3 months ago

California bans insurers from dropping coverage to another 200,000 fire-prone homes

LA Times  

The Sandalwood fire at the Calimesa Mobile Home Park left several people killed and many homes ruined. California on Wednesday expanded its one-year ban on home insurers dropping policies in wildfire-hit areas to include 200,000 more homes, including in San Bernardino County and Northern California, the Department of Insurance announced. “This wildfire insurance crisis has been years in the making, …

Editorial: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has a taxpayer-funded second home
5 years, 6 months ago

Editorial: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has a taxpayer-funded second home

LA Times  

When he took over as the state’s top insurance regulator this year, Ricardo Lara decided not to relocate permanently to Sacramento, the seat of California’s state government. Lara’s spokesman said that the insurance department’s lawyers vetted the practice, and that furthermore it may save taxpayers money if Lara works in Sacramento more than seven days a month. Worse, the revelation …

Parts of California are too wildfire-prone to insure
5 years, 7 months ago

Parts of California are too wildfire-prone to insure

Salon  

California is facing yet another real estate-related crisis, but we’re not talking about its sky-high home prices. Last winter when we wrote about home insurance rates possibly going up in the wake of California’s massive, deadly fires, the insurance industry representatives we interviewed were skeptical. But now, the data is in and it’s really happening: Insurance companies aren’t renewing policies …

California insurers drop policies in high-fire risk areas
5 years, 7 months ago

California insurers drop policies in high-fire risk areas

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — New California data shows insurance companies declined to renew nearly 350,000 home insurance policies in areas at high risk for wildfire since the state began collecting data in 2015. But the insurance industry noted the number of non-renewed policies remained fairly steady year-over-year and said many insurers are still offering policies in high-risk fire areas. “This data …

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