California insurers drop policies in high-fire risk areas

New California data shows insurance companies declined to renew nearly 350,000 home insurance policies in areas at high risk for wildfire since the state began collecting data in 2015.

Data released this week shows nearly 33,000 policies weren’t renewed by insurers in zip codes affected by major wildfires in 2015 and 2017. Insurance officials say many people likely found coverage elsewhere, though potentially at higher cost.

Total new and renewed policies were up during that time in fire-risk areas. Joel Laucher from the state insurance department told lawmakers that more insurers have been asking to raise premiums.

The data doesn’t include policies dropped following major 2018 California wildfires.

The insurance industry says non-renewals were mostly consistent year-over-year and that many insurers still write policies in high-risk areas.