itstargetnews
FOX Business Cheryl Casone joined Fox & Friends First to discuss the insurance crisis in California as wildfires ravage Los Angeles and broader concerns about the industry moving forward.
The wildfires ravaging southern California is expected to add more fuel to the state’s ongoing insurance crisis as property coverage options for residents continue to dwindle or even disappear.
various insurance companies have fled California, stopped writing new policies or reduced their exposure to The Golden State, citing business risks amid rising replacement costs and an inability to raise premiums adequately.
Homes burn as strong winds drive the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (David McNew/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Here is a list of some of the insurance companies that have downsized or left California in recent years:
Allstate
Insurance giant AllState halted sales of new home insurance policies in California in 2022 due to wildfires and the higher costs of doing business in the state.
California wildfires could cost insurers $20 million, highest in state history
American national
Texas-based American National announced last year that it would stop offering homeowners insurance in the California market.
AmGUARD
AmGUARD, a subsidiary of Owned by Berkshire Hathaway GUARD insurance companies stopped writing homeowners policies in California by 2023.
Chubb
Insurance company Chubb began reducing its California exposure more than three years ago. (Photo illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Chubb President and CEO Evan Greenberg announced in a 2021 earnings call that the company would significantly reduce homeowners coverage in California, citing wildfire risks and the state’s insurance regulations, according to S&P.
Falls Lake Insurance
Falls Lake informed the California Department of Insurance in 2023 that it would pull out of the state entirely because the company could not obtain reinsurance, PropertyCasualty360 reported that year.
Farmers Insurance Group
Farmers Insurance Group began limiting coverage in California in 2023, and later that year, one of its subsidiaries, Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Company, pulled out of the state entirely.
At the national level
Nationwide Private Client, a subsidiary of Nationwide, said in California last year that it would stop renewing all of its homeowner’s insurance policies in the state by June 2025, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
State Farm
A sign is posted in front of a State Farm insurance office on January 3, 2024 in Berkeley, California. State Farm announced last year that it would suspend 72,000 insurance policies in the Golden State. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)
State Farm, California’s largest home insurance provider, announced in 2023 that it would no longer accept applications for property insurance and other policies in California, citing “historic” increases in construction costs and inflation.”
CALIFORNIA FIRE LIABILITY: STATE FARM, OTHER INSURERS HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO DROP COVERAGE
Then, in March of last year, the company said it would cut 72,000 home and apartment policies starting in the summer.
The Hartford
Hartford Financial Services Group stopped writing new homeowners insurance policies in California in early 2024.
Malibu resident Saphia Hall gives a first-hand account of California’s catastrophic wildfires in “Making Money.”
Tokio Marine Insurance Co., Trans Pacific Insurance Co.
Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Trans Pacific Insurance Co., both owned by Japanese firm Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., filed notices with the California Department of Insurance in April 2024 saying the companies would stop offering homeowners insurance and umbrella policies in the state.
GET THE FOX BUSINESS ANYWHERE CLICK HERE
travelers
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Travelers Insurance announced it would not renew homeowner policies on thousands of California properties starting in 2022 and 2023 because of wildfire risk.
