Farmers promises to insure more California homes before reforms arrive

Farmers Insurance plans to start writing more home insurance policies in California ahead of regulatory reforms set for next year, the state's second-largest homeowners insurance provider announced Wednesday.

In 2023, Farmers capped the number of new homeowner insurance customers it accepted at 7,000 a month, and paused writing policies for condo and renters insurance. The company said it's now committed to writing 9,500 new homeowners policies each month. And starting Dec. 14, it plans to insure additional condos and renters before writing new coverage for other types of insurance it had halted.

"Farmers Insurance has decided to take these steps to increase coverage availability for California consumers because we recognize that the state's insurance marketplace has indeed improved," Behram Dinshaw, president of personal lines for Farmers Insurance, said in a statement.

Wednesday's announcement was the latest move by insurers to signal willingness to reverse their pullout from the California home market in response to regulatory changes they've sought. Farmers in May announced plans to resume coverage for businesses, and Allstate in April said it would consider writing new homeowners policies.

California's property insurance market has been reeling after a series of devastating wildfires over the last decade, with estimated losses of more than $35.8 billion. Insurers have ended coverage for hundreds of thousands of policyholders in fire-prone areas such as the Wine Country, the East Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Meanwhile, some of the largest carriers, including State Farm and Allstate, have stopped writing new home insurance policies anywhere in California.

In response, state insurance regulators plan to adopt new regulations by the end of this year addressing insurers' chief demands, including faster rate hike approvals and allowing providers to raise rates based on the future risk posed by climate change. In return, regulators have pledged that insurers would have to offer more coverage across the state's fire-risk areas.

Consumer advocates, however, are skeptical of the plan, arguing it will lead to steep rate hikes across the state and that regulators won't be able to follow through on their promises to compel insurers to write more policies in fire-prone regions.