Advocacy

California insurance regulators on Wednesday released maps of the state’s most wildfire-distressed areas, where they aim to require insurance companies to write more policies, the next phase of their plan to address the ongoing crisis in the state’s home insurance market. The new draft state…

The Department of Insurance has been working on regulatory reform but in the meantime many residents are facing scenarios where their only option is the California FAIR Plan, which they say costs too much and covers too little. Like many around the state, Berkeley homeowners…

THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: California’s leaders are determined to save a private property insurance market roiled by climate change. But others are — somewhat begrudgingly — starting to imagine a world without insurance (as we usually think of it) at…

State Farm, the largest insurance carrier in California, has announced a significant reversal of its earlier decision to not renew over 70,000 policies in the state, including 30,000 home insurance policies. This change comes after the company initially cited increasing wildfire risks as the primary…

State Farm has changed its policy on non-renewals, taking a page out of other carriers’ playbooks. The largest carrier in California announced in March it would not renew more than 70,000 policies in the state — 30,000 of them home insurance policies. Much of the…

State Farm customers, who initially believed they would be dropped by the insurance company, now have a new option for insurance in California. However, Megan Goldsby reported it still doesn’t help with fire insurance. Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, said the new State…

As insurance companies drop more California homeowners over the state’s fire risk, some are predicting the next crisis is a drop in home values. Bill Kinyon said his insurance company decided not to renew his policy over the fire risk to his family’s modest 700-square-foot…

I attended the May 15 workshop in Scotts Valley on home insurance, hoping I could find a way to lower my State Farm premium, which has jumped from $1,000 a year before the CZU wildfire in Boulder Creek to $3,290 a year. The panel of…

California plans to close the door on insurance carriers leaving the state by granting many of their rate hike requests, some into the double digits. That’s the plan state officials are banking on to stabilize the California insurance market in an environment where surveys indicate…

Property owners in the Golden State face more insurance rate hikes, some into the double digits, amid ongoing concerns over carriers leaving the state. Despite requests for increases, state officials aim to stabilize the market and prioritize insurance access. California plans to close the door…

Homeowners around the city, as with much of the state, have been getting non-renewal notices from their insurers, leaving them with few options and rising costs. Original story, May 23: Councilmember Susan Wengraf, who represents the northeastern corner of Berkeley, has organized a Zoom seminar…

A bill backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that is intended to halt more exits from California’s troubled homeowners insurance market by speeding up reviews of proposed rate hikes drew sharp criticism Wednesday from an influential consumer group. The administration this week released the draft of…

HITTING A CRISIS POINT: The wildfire insurance problem in California has gotten so bad that Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking a counter-intuitive stance for a top Democrat: siding with industry in its long-standing feud with consumer advocates. A legislative proposal the Newsom administration published late…