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Wild Fires & Insurance in California


With an increase in wildfires around the world and in California, home insurance has become a hot topic as insurance companies are forced to deny renewals or charge exorbitant premiums to cover risk. One of our Monterey County Association of Realtors representatives recently met with the Insurance Commissioner and other officials to discuss fire insurance concerns. A lot was discussed but I thought I'd share a few of the takeaways:

Current Challenges:

  • There has been a 600% increase in non-renewal complaints since 2010.

  • 10 of the 20 most destructive fires in history have been in the last 4 years (CA)

  • There has been a $25B loss to the industry as a result

  • The evaluation of properties used to be just on the specific property, now it’s based on imagery of the region the house is in. They look at slope, fuel load, type of fuel and access.

New laws passed for 2019-2020:

  • SB824- non-renewal protection for all homes in declared disaster areas (who had no losses)

  • SB894- mandates 2 guaranteed renewals following a loss

  • AB38- State level fund created to provide assistance to homeowners to pay for fire hardening

  • AB1816- 75 day mandatory cancellation notice to policy holders (vs. the previous 45 day notice

Fires affect everyone and it will be important for the government and communities to continue to work together to find viable solutions. We'll see what happens.

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Sotheby's International Realty
3775 Via Nona Marie Suite 100, Carmel CA 93923
831-624-9700

License: DRE#01966114

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Debora Sanders is a real estate salesperson licensed by the state of California affiliated with Sotheby's International Realty. Sotheby's International Realty is a real estate broker licensed by the state of California and abides by equal housing opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting, or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage.

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