State Farm Gets ‘Provisional’ Approval For 22% Rate Hike In California

While Gavin Newsom gallavants around the pod-o-sphere trying to reinvent himself as a moderate Democrat, residents of his woefully mismanaged state have ‘enjoyed’ watching their home insurance rates skyrocket, or have it dropped altogether - as companies are abandoning the state left and right over financial struggles stemming from wildfires and other peril.

To that end, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced on Friday that he has “provisionally” allowed State Farm to hike rates by 22%, CBS News reports.

Lara described the not-yet-final emergency rate increase as a necessary measure given “unprecedented times” in a statement, saying the insurance company will have to justify the rate hike with data proving it’s needed at a public hearing on April 8. During a Feb. 26 meeting at the Department of Insurance’s Oakland office, State Farm told the commissioner it would be able to cover thousands of claims from the deadly wildfires in January which damaged and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures — but would need to raise homeowners’ rates to cover the costs. 

By Feb. 1, State Farm received over 8,700 claims related to the LA wildfires totaling over $1 billion, resulting in State Farm General – the company’s California-only subsidiary, to warn that rate hikes are needed to pay out future claims, as it expects to cover an estimated $7.6 billion from the LA wildfire losses alone. The company added that payout out the claims has already depleted its capital – requiring them to raise rates by 22% for homeowners and 15% for renters.

State Farm, one of California’s largest home insurers, covers more than 1 million state homeowners. In a Friday statement, they called the provisional rate increase a “step in the right direction” as they work to rebuild capital.

“It’s time for certainty in the California insurance market for our customers,” reads the statement. “The provisional nature of today’s decision does not improve that certainty but it’s a step in the right direction. We are moving forward with implementing this provisionally approved rate and will continue to work with the California Department of Insurance for a sustainable future for the California insurance market.”

Some Los Angeles County residents who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton Fires have reported not having enough coverage to cover the destruction and rebuild while others had their coverage dropped before the disasters. In the Pacific Palisades, 1,600 policies were dropped by State Farm in July, and an analysis by CBS News San Francisco last year found that State Farm also dropped more than 2,000 policies in other parts of LA including another neighborhood threatened by the Palisades Fire. -CBS News

The move reflects an overall trend of private insurers, including State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers Insurance, dropping policies in the state or halting underwriting – causing California homeowners to forego insurance, or use the state-backed insurer of last resort: the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan (FAIR), which offers free basic insurance to cover homes in high-risk areas where private insurers won’t provide coverage (or will provide a ‘wrap’ policy on top of the FAIR plan).

“Many are already anxious about losing their coverage and being forced onto the Fair Plan,” Lara said at a meeting with State Farm last month, adding “And in terms of what certainty can consumers expect from State Farm if granted an interim rate, I do appreciate State Farm was the first insurer to voluntarily suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations in areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.”