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    The Road to Tyranny by Don Jans

    My comments to Department of insurance letter are below concerning escalating home insurance rates

    Commentary by Arthur Bierman

    My rebuttal to the department of insurance, their letter attached.Ask everyone to write our senator and also the Department of Insurance. Expect your homeowners renewal to increase 30%.

    A wildfire discount for people in low risk areas is a step in the right direction. The ending of controlled burns and brush clearing is a large contributing problem. All agencies in California must work together.
    Insurance companies leaving the State must be incentivezed to stay (or we become another Florida) with few options, lesser coverage and higher rates. A maximum liability must be agreed to in advance so existing businesses stay. Many jobs will be lost also if more isn’t done quickly. Ask representatives in the insurance business what they need and see if it’s doable.
    Insurance in California is a political stepping stone elected position. Take the politics out of this issue.
    My original complaint letter:

    STATE OF CALIFORNIA Ricardo Lara, Insurance Commissioner

    DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE
    CONSUMER SERVICES AND MARKET CONDUCT BRANCH
    CONSUMER COMMUNICATIONS BUREAU
    300 SOUTH SPRING STREET
    LOS ANGELES, CA 90013
    www.insurance.ca.gov

    August 15, 2023

    Arthur Bierman
    4052 Farralon Way
    Oxnard, CA 93035

    Our File Number: 8532132
    Regarding: Homeowners Insurance
    Dear Mr. Bierman:

    Thank you for your recent correspondence of 8/14/2023.
    We are aware that affordable residential insurance is getting harder to find in areas of the state that insurers identify as having a higher than average risk of wildfire. We can certainly understand your concerns with the present condition of the residential insurance market. Be assured that the Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and California Department of Insurance staff have been working with the Governor’s Administration, the State Legislature, and other stakeholders to come up with viable long-term solutions to the availability and affordability problem.

    In 2022, Commissioner Lara proposed new regulations intended to improve wildfire safety and drive down the cost of insurance for homeowners and businesses. The regulations are now state law. It is the first in the nation requiring insurance companies to provide discounts to consumers under the Safer from Wildfires framework created by the California Department of Insurance in partnership with state emergency preparedness agencies. Insurance companies are required to submit new rate filings incorporating wildfire safety standards created by the Department, and to establish a process for releasing wildfire risk determinations to residents and businesses by April 12, 2023. The filings will then be subject to review and approval by the Department. Transparency is an important benefit of this regulation, by requiring insurance companies to provide consumers with their property’s “wildfire risk score” and creating a right to appeal that score. You may wish to read the related Press Release on our public website.

    While the Department does not have the legal authority to tell insurers what level of risk they must accept, we can certainly review the specific situation involving your homeowners’ policy by completing a Request for Assistance form accessible from our webpage.

    If you are shopping the market, we invite you to visit and explore the Department’s Website which provides several tips and tools that may assist you in your search for residential insurance including the Home Insurance Finder Tool. For commercial property insurance, such as an HOA policy, visit our Find an Agent site to locate an agent or broker who may be able to shop the market.
    Thank you again for taking the time to write us. In the future, if we can assist you with an insurance problem or provide you with additional information, please contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-927-4357 or visit us online.

    Sincerely,

    Jon Young
    Associate Insurance Compliance Officer
    Phone: 213-346-6901
    Email: [email protected]

    Please refer to our file number when responding

    I have been insured by State Farm since I bought my home in 2013. The property is in the middle of a 65 home residential urban island between Malibu and Santa Barbara, close to the Port Hueneme Naval Base. The house was built by DR Horton in 2008 so ceiling home sprinklers were required.
    My insurance rates are increasing by 30% and no other providers are available for a quote because so many are leaving the State. Wildfires for me are not an issue within 20 miles so I have to pay for California mismanagement on many levels. This is something that can crash our economy. If insurance companies leave this state as in Florida, there will be no availability of home insurance in California. If it does exist, it is almost certain, there will be lesser coverage at unaffordable prices via the last chance program.
    When is something except blame, incompetency, waste and a let’s raise taxes philosophy going to be done to help the residents of California? What is your office doing to avert this guaranteed disaster?
    To Senator S. Monique Limón Received Verification on August 15, 2023 and again on August 23rd.

    The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of Citizens Journal


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