Homeowners in fire-prone areas are being canceled by their insurance companies who are fleeing the state, claiming the risks are too high for the money they are getting. This has caused thousands of homeowners to pay triple or quadruple their previous rates to the so-called Fair Plan, California’s program of last resort. Should a large fire break out, the program may not be able to continue without major intervention from governments at the state and national level. Climate change is ramping up the wildfire season to year-round, and that’s caused many homeowners to ask where this is all heading.
Kirk Wilson Clifton is a broker with the Leavitt United Insurance Services group. He has some pointed words about how we got to the point where home insurers and fleeing the state and what it might take to fix the problem of no insurance or expensive insurance in the face of increasing wildfire intensity and size putting more homes at risk due to climate change and other factors.
Here is the latest statement from California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and the response from Consumer Watchdog, one of the plan’s most vocal critics.
