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☆ Burned and uninsured: Wildfires are leaving California’s housing market in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-18 | by ( Shania Baweja | Taylor Galgano | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

That’s made home insurance increasingly unaffordable or even inaccessible – and that’s leaving more people in the same position as the Daneaus. California’s largest insurer, State Farm, requested a 30% rate increase for its homeowner’s line last month. Last year, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara reached an agreement with insurers with an aim to cover approximately 85% of properties in high-risk areas. “[My insurance plan] wasn’t canceled but my insurance company increased the rates quite a bit,” she said. But he cautioned there’s no guarantee of that, leaving homeowners like the Daneaus grappling with uncertainty.

Persons: Los Angeles CNN —, Michael, Kristy Daneau’s, Kristy, Michael Daneau, Kristy Daneau, That’s, “ We’re, ” Michael, ”, aren’t, Justin Sullivan, California’s, it’s, ” Michael Daneau, Ricardo Lara, Kristy Daneau's, what’s, Steve Hawks, Woolsey, Angela Wilson, LAEPF, Wilson, Brent Woodworth, there’s, “ I’m, we’ve, CNN’s Camila Bernal, Sarah Moon Organizations: Los Angeles CNN, Gas & Electric, Insurance Information Institute, California Department of Insurance, Farm, State, CNN, FAIR, California FAIR, California, Golden State, The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, Institute for Business & Home Safety, for Business & Home, Los, Emergency Preparedness Foundation Locations: Cohasset, California, Paradise , California, Santa Monica, Malibu

☆ State Farm again is seeking huge increases in home insurance rates in California
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —State Farm is seeking increases of as much as 52% for some of its residential insurance rates in California, which could ramp up the financial burden for many homeowners and renters in the state’s troubled insurance market. It’s the third major change for State Farm in California within the last year. “State Farm General’s latest rate filings raise serious questions about its financial condition,” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. A few months following State Farm’s decision to stop offering new home insurance, Farmers Insurance also started limiting new homeowners insurance policies in California, citing high costs and wildfire risks. Farmers is the second-largest provider of homeowners insurance in the state, after State Farm.

Persons: Ricardo Lara, ” Lara, “, Farmer’s, – CNN’s Cheri Mossburg Organizations: New, New York CNN, State Farm, Farm, California Department of Insurance, Farmers Insurance, Farmers Locations: New York, California, ”, Florida

☆ What do homeowners in California and Florida have in common? A major insurance problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Homeowners in both California and Florida are facing a home insurance crisis due to natural disasters. AdvertisementAdvertisementFormer Florida residents Natalia and John told Insider's Jordan Pandy that they had to leave after their homeowners insurance skyrocketed to $12,000. The lifelong Florida residents said they moved to a town in Wisconsin where they could get a lot more bang for their buck. Across the country, another form of natural disaster is complicating homeowner's insurance in the West, including California. "Modernizing our insurance market is not going to be easy or happen overnight," California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, said, according to AP.

Persons: —, Natalia, John, Insider's Jordan Pandy, Insider's Catherine Boudreau, Dan Latu, Ricardo Lara Organizations: Service, Census, CBS News, Guardian, Allstate, AP Locations: California, Florida, Wisconsin

☆ California lets insurers factor wildfire risks in rates to widen coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A house is fully engulfed by flames at the Dixie Fire, a wildfire near the town of Greenville, California, U.S. August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Liberty Mutual Group Inc FollowSept 21 (Reuters) - California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara took steps on Thursday to allow property insurers to factor in climate risks including wildfires in rate prices, if they increase underwriting in at-risk areas to wean consumers off state-funded coverage. The measures by the state's insurance regulator follow an executive order by Governor Gavin Newsom urging regulatory action to expand coverage in underserved areas, account for catastrophe risks in rates, and keep the FAIR Plan solvent. The continued retreat of larger insurance carriers from the California residential property insurance market signals ongoing regulatory constraints, rising cost inflation, and higher catastrophe losses, credit rating agency Fitch said in a note earlier this year. Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fred Greaves, Ricardo Lara, Lara, Gavin Newsom, Gallagher, Fitch, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Liberty Mutual Group, California Insurance, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, FAIR, Gallagher Re, Thomson Locations: Greenville , California, U.S, California, Florida, Bengaluru

Here's a look at what California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara proposed and how it would affect the state's insurance market:WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES? It said insurance companies had to get permission from the state Department of Insurance before they could raise their rates. When setting their rates, insurance companies cannot consider current or future risks to a property. Insurance companies also buy insurance themselves, a process known as reinsurance. The process includes lots of time for insurance companies and consumer groups to give their input.

Persons: Ricardo Lara, They've, Lara Organizations: California, of Insurance, Insurance, Companies, California Department of Forestry, Protection . Insurance, . Insurance, FAIR, Consumer Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, California, ratepayers

☆ California paves way for more insurance coverage in disaster-prone areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Cheri Mossburg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —California will now let insurance companies consider climate change when offering policies, in exchange for a mandate requiring them to offer coverage in wildfire-prone areas, state leaders announced on Thursday. “We are at a major crossroads on insurance after multiple years of wildfires and storms intensified by the threat of climate change,” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. Insurance companies will give priority to homeowners and businesses who have taken steps to harden their properties to disasters like wildfires, floods and windstorms. Regulators believe that will help Californians to move off the FAIR plan. It is critical that California’s insurance market works to protect homes and businesses in every corner of our state,” Newsom said in a statement.

Persons: “, Ricardo Lara, ” Lara, Gavin Newsom, Lara, “ We’re, ” Newsom Organizations: CNN, FAIR, California Gov, Insurance Locations: California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A new plan from California's insurance commissioner aims to stop the nation's top insurers from leaving the wildfire-prone state by letting them consider climate risks when setting their prices. Unlike most states, California tightly restricts how insurance companies can price policies. Companies aren't allowed to factor in current or future risks when deciding how much to charge for an insurance policy. It’s one reason why, in the past year, seven of California’s top insurance companies have paused or restricted new business in the state. On Thursday, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the state will write new rules to let insurers look to the future when setting their rates.

Persons: aren't, Ricardo Lara, ” Lara, Denni Ritter, Amy Bach, United, “, Ken Sweet Organizations: First Street Foundation, California, American, Casualty Insurance Association, Consumer Watchdog, Associated Press Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, California, Florida, New York

CNN —Millions of American homeowners could see insurance rates surge in the coming years in part due to worsening climate disasters, new data shows. It’s another alarming sign for the future of America’s homeowners’ insurance market. “We’re still kind of at the forefront of the insurance industry pricing in climate risk into the real estate market,” Porter told CNN. Premiums are at risk of surging to a lesser extent in cities across the country, First Street data shows. “I know where the places are where people are dropping their insurance — it’s Florida, Louisiana, California and Colorado,” Bach told CNN.

Persons: ”, David Jones, Jeremy Porter, “, ” Porter, Hurricane Ian, Matias J, Jones, ” Jones, Amy Bach, Bach, ” Bach, Kyle Grillot, Reuters Jones, Porter, ‘ I’m, it’s Organizations: CNN, Foundation, UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, Hurricane, Miami Herald, Tribune, Service, Los, National Flood Insurance, FEMA, United, Residents, Reuters Locations: California , Florida, Louisiana, California, Matlacha , Florida, Florida, Texas, Vermont, Montpelier . Kentucky, West Virginia, Miami, Jacksonville, New Orleans, East Coast, Atlantic City , New Jersey, Virginia Beach, Norfolk , Virginia, Wilmington , North Carolina, Charleston , South Carolina, Savannah , Georgia, New York City, Phoenix, Chicago , Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Coast, Riverside , California, Los Angeles, Gulf Coast, Plaquemines Parish , Louisiana, Collier County , Florida, Colorado, Wrightwood , California

The U.S. homeowner’s insurance industry has had three straight years of underwriting losses, according to credit rating agency AM Best. Record numbers of Americans are now insured through state-affiliated “insurers of last resort” like California’s FAIR Plan, or Louisiana or Florida’s Citizens property insurance companies. These programs were designed to insure properties where private insurance companies have refused to insure or the price for private insurance is too expensive. In Florida, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. now has 1.4 million homeowners’ policies in effect, nearly triple in five years. “It used to be homeowner's insurance was an afterthought when you are looking at buying a property.

Persons: you’re, ”, California Sen, Bill Dodd, Jeremy Porter, Fannie Mae, Todd Bevington, “ I’ve, Jen Goodlin, ‘, ’ ”, “ We’ve, ” Dodd, Dodd, Porter, Guy Carpenter, Lara Mowery, Mowery, ” Mowery, That’s, ” Bevington, Adam Beam, Janie Har Organizations: First Street Foundation, Bank of America, Treasury Department, Paradise, FAIR, Citizens Property Insurance Corp, Farm, Allstate, National Flood Insurance, Swiss, Munich Re, Hurricane Locations: California, Florida, Louisiana, Lahaina, Vermont, Maine, New York, U.S, “, Paradise, Northern California, Colorado, Munich, New Orleans, Gulf, Asheland, N.C, Sacramento, Calif, San Francisco

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Tens of thousands of people are scrambling for homeowners insurance in Louisiana at the peak of hurricane season after recent storms drove their carriers out of business. Massive claims from those storms drove large national insurance companies to scale back their coverage and remaining companies to jack up rates. The strategy seemed to work: Rates eventually stabilized, although Louisiana remained one of the most expensive states for homeowners insurance. That pushed the small insurance companies to their financial limits and squeezed reinsurers, who raised their rates. The state insurer’s rolls, which totaled 34,500 in August 2020, ballooned to about 110,000 last week.

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