It's similar to the dilemma companies face in insuring homes in wildfire-prone areas or along the Florida coast, he said.
Since pandemic restrictions eased, traffic is back nearly to what it was in 2019 before the coronavirus struck, while drivers have become less safe so crashes, injuries and fatalities increased, said Bob Passmore, an APCIA vice president and auto claims expert. Deaths fell slightly last spring for the first time in two years, but any drop in those payments is offset by supply chain shortages and rapidly rising inflation.
Progressive President and Chief Executive Officer Tricia Griffith said in an earnings call last month that the company was slowing its growth in California because of the moratorium, while Allstate has stopped using independent agents and tried to limit customers' payment options until it was blocked from doing so by Lara's office.
Insurers “are becoming increasingly less willing to write new business” in California because of the moratorium, Joseph Lacher Jr., Kemper's president, chief executive officer and chairman said during an earnings call last month. “If there’s one tactic the insurance industry has perfected, it’s trying to blackmail the public by threatening to pull out," he said.