A 2020 California wild fire destroyed my second home. My current insurer has elected not to renew my HO policy on my primary home due to the high fire risk location of my primary home. Upon trying to secure a new HO policy from another insurer for my primary home, that other insurer has declined to insure my primary home because of my loss history. This seems discriminatory. I have been told by agents that insurers will not insure if one has had a large loss within the last three years. Can you explain how this is lawful? It sure seems discriminatory to me. Thank you.
Jeff Faraday asked 2 years ago 1 Answers
Karl Susman Expert answered 2 years ago Insurance companies will underwrite based on past loss history, as a general rule. Obviously, someone with say three speeding tickets is a higher risk than someone with none. For property insurance, losses from a previous fire are looked at. However with the case of wildfires, they are considered CAT (Catastrophe) losses and most insurers will not hold this against you when obtaining a new policy. Happy to point you in the direction of some if you’re having issues.
Karl Susman
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