California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara speaks during a news conference in a Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. Lara announced a new plan aimed at keeping insurance companies from leaving the wildfire-prone state.
“Consumer Watchdog’s latest cynical claims hide the truth that the group has earned millions of dollars signing off on rate increases — while denying the reality that insurance has become impossible for some Californians to find at any price,” Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller said in a statement., forcing them to buy pricey, minimal coverage policies through the California FAIR Plan, where participation has doubled.
The draft bill included language the industry had sought allowing catastrophe modeling and reinsurance costs to be factored into rates, and other provisions that would help the industry ensure solvency of the privately run, last-resort FAIR plan, created through state legislation. It also included a commitment from insurers that 85% of their statewide market share would be in high wildfire risk communities, though the bill language provided that the commissioner could allow exceptions.