Woodbridge firefighter Joe Zurilgen passes a burning home as the Kincade Fire rages in Healdsburg, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2019. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced plans on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, aimed at keeping home insurers in California amid increasing risks from climate change. One of California’s largest home insurers is raising rates for hundreds of thousands of state policyholders by an average of 15.
California’s insurance rates are tightly regulated and, as a result, far lower than in many other states. The insurance industry, citing a series of destructive wildfire seasons and rising building costs, has for years argued the rate regulations are untenable. In a filing with the state insurance department explaining the need for a rate increase, the New York-based company cited “inflationary pressures” on construction costs and argued current pricing models don’t account for the damage expected from “changing climate conditions.”
To calm California’s imploding home insurance market, state regulators have embarked on a yearlong overhaul of home insurance rules and pricing. The goal is to give insurers additional latitude to raise premiums to account for more frequent catastrophic fires while extracting commitments to extend coverage in fire-risk areas.
Despite the settlement, Cassidy expects the company to continue asking for rate adjustments to offset the increased risk across the state. However, he said the company insures relatively few properties in the wildfire-prone Santa Cruz Mountains, where his agency is based.