Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumFor +/- 200,000 California Residents, Allstate Premiums Are About To Rise By An Average Of 34%
California insurance officials have approved Allstates request to raise insurance rates for homeowners by an average of about 34 percent. Its the largest premium hike of any major carrier in the past three years and the latest gut punch for residents as the state continues its ongoing push-pull with insurance companies over how much people should pay to live in wildfire-prone areas.
The Allstate rate changes, which will go into effect in November, will hit about 200,000 households across a range of regions, from coastal communities such as San Mateo and Santa Barbara counties, to inland areas such as Fresno. About 5,000 households will see their rates increase by more than 100 percent. Pockets of homeowners will have to pay much more: Five homeowners in Central Californias Mariposa County will have to pay about 203 percent more for their premiums, while another resident in the same county will see theirs spike by 385 percent, filing data shows.
Two out of 178 or so people in the tiny community of Snelling, Calif., will see a 232 percent increase. In Sonoma County, which has seen some of the states most destructive fires, rates will rise by an average of 164 percent. About 2,000 policyholders, however, will see their rates drop by almost 60 percent, according to the data.
This hike is far from a sudden move and reflects how the states insurance department has been trying to balance keeping carriers from ditching or not expanding coverage for residents while enabling them to charge more for climate change-related costs. Like other disaster-prone states, California, one of the worlds largest insurance markets, has been reeling from a growing crisis over coverage. In the past year or so, seven out of the states top 12 carriers, including Allstate and State Farm, pulled back coverage, blaming wildfires, the rising costs of such threats and state regulators refusal to approve rate hikes. They have claimed that homeowners premiums do not match the risk they face and have pressured the states insurance department to make some big changes.
EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/08/29/california-insurance-wildfires-allstate/
Lovie777
(15,009 posts)government needs to kick in.
Think. Again.
(17,996 posts)Think. Again.
(17,996 posts)usonian
(13,848 posts)IMNSHO
You don't transition from gas to electricity by doubling electric rates, nor increase housing by raising insurance rates on homes outside the major cities, which are full up.
A lot of fires are caused by faulty electrical lines and by arsonists. We find out years after the fact.
There needs to be a safety net. As a retiree, my electric bills used to be around $35 outside of summer. The highest so far this year was around $400. And I keep my home around 84 in summer, not 78.
I cleared about 5 acres of scrub near the home, but nobody looks. Not even CalFire. They have inspected maybe twice in 10 years.
Sucks not to be on a state commision. They go "green" in a big way, but I can't prove it.
Grandparents had a saying: "Paga per morta", Pay till you die.
The rich need their yachts repainted.