SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Residents along the western edges of Southwest Riverside County and the eastern fringes of Orange County find it increasingly difficult to get homeowners insurance, and wildfire risk is why.
The yet-to-be-fully-contained 23,526-acre Airport Fire that broke out Sept. 9 may add angst for these residents concerned about their policies — and for good reason, though the state offered a small reprieve last week.
As part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration issued Sept. 11 that covered the Airport and Bridge fires, and the Sept. 7 declaration for the Line Fire, insurance companies cannot issue cancellations or non-renewals based on wildfire risk for one year from those declaration dates.
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About 750,000 Southern California homeowners are protected under the state order issued Sept. 19 by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Find out if your zip code is in the mandatory one-year moratorium for non-renewals and cancellations.
“By law, I am able to place moratoriums on insurance company homeowners cancellations and non-renewals in areas stricken by wildfires,” Lara said in a Sept. 19 statement.
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The commissioner described the moratorium as a “temporary protection,” but said it “creates much-needed breathing room for homeowners” while his Sustainable Insurance Strategy takes effect.
That strategy promises to safeguard the health of the insurance market in California in the face of climate change challenges, but it remains to be seen how the plan will roll out.
Meanwhile, many Southern California homeowners are seeing their insurance coverage costs skyrocket while simultaneously witnessing an exodus of insurance companies from the Golden State.
Some residents have been forced to turn to the state. Known as the California Fair Plan, the insurance is available to California residents and businesses in urban and rural areas who cannot obtain homeowners’ policies through regular insurance companies. Though the Fair Plan was created by the state, it is a private association whose day-to-day operations are controlled by insurance companies.
It’s unclear how many residents might lose their current policies next year as a direct result of the Airport Fire. The blaze destroyed 160 structures and damaged another 34, according to Cal Fire figures.
After the 2017 Wildomar Fire burned nearly 1,000 acres just west of the unincorporated community of La Cresta near Murrieta, many homeowners there learned their insurance policies would not be renewed. When they called around to get quotes from other providers, many homeowners were rejected.
Consumers can contact the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or via chat or email at insurance.ca.gov if they believe their insurance company is in violation of state law, or have additional claims-related questions.
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