California fires may make homeowners insurance harder to get
The
"We are not at a crisis point yet, but you can see where the trends are going," California Insurance Commissioner
He expects more insurance companies to opt not to renew policies or to simply stop writing homeowners policies in areas with the highest fire risk. He also anticipates rate increases, and for parts of the state to be reclassified from safe to high-risk.
State officials don't track exactly how many people are dropped by their insurance companies, but the number of homeowners complaining about it happening more than tripled from 2010 to 2016.
The problem is most pronounced in high-risk fire areas. In the 24
Homeowners who need new or replacement policies may have to look harder or pay more.
A standard homeowners insurance policy will cover losses from a wildfire. If someone cannot find a policy in the traditional market, they can get one through what's called surplus lines, which are policies that don't have to follow the same state regulations.
There's also
Consumers may also get frustrated when they find out their policies will not be renewed or cannot find coverage easily.
"We do have a healthy market and we do have insurance available," said
Last year's wildfires in
State law prohibits all of an insurer's catastrophic losses from being passed on to consumers at one time. So the impact on rates may come over several years.
That is where the insurance becomes the most challenging. An estimated 3.6 million
As this trend continues, "more and more homeowners who cannot afford insurance may decide to go uninsured, risking their life savings and ultimately seeking relief from federal and state governments," the state's report said.
"Fire has been part of
"It's hard because we want to live in these beautiful spaces, but there is some personal responsibility you have to take to protect yourself."
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