Losses from the Los Angeles fires threatened to deepen a crisis that has already left hundreds of thousands of Californians struggling to find and keep affordable homeowners insurance. A major concern out of the destruction is not just the people without insurance,
California has been hit with an exodus of property insurance companies in recent years, and the state's ongoing wildfires threaten to make the problem worse.
Several California insurers cut policies in wildfire-prone areas in recent years, leaving homeowners scrambling for options.
The company took steps to reduce its risk to wildfire-prone California, but that's not the only issue facing investors.
An emergency room nurse from Sierra Madre ran towards the Eaton fire to save her elderly parents' home in Hastings Ranch from going up in flames after their insurance company dropped their fire insurance, she told Los Angeles' KABC-TV in a video shared on YouTube on Wednesday.
Insurance companies are expected to face significant losses due to the wildfires in Southern California, though a report by Wells Fargo expects those will be "manageable."
State Farm and Allstate stopped offering new homeowner policies in the state in 2023, but the market may be too big to exit entirely, experts say.
Weiss Ratings issued a report alleging that Farmers Insurance and other California insurers reject nearly half of claims from state homeowners. Insurers have disputed the findings.
In recent years, insurers like Allstate, American National, The Hartford and State Farm have stopped renewing policies or issuing new policies for California homeowners.
California lawmakers thought it was sensible to pass an economic policy that has been failing for more than 4,000 years.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said homeowners can continue to trust the state’s insurance market amid increasing concerns about wildfire risk.
California’s Department of Insurance has worked to repair the broken insurance system, but the LA fires threaten to undo the progress the state has made.