Fire Insurance Cancellation (old discussion, partially restored)

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Fire Insurance Cancellation
Thread starterptrubey
Start dateLater today at 9:12 AM

ptrubey
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Later today at 9:12 AM

#1
While we’ve heard of sporadic homeowners insurance policies being cancelled due to fire risk, my State Farm policy hasn’t been affected. I am wondering if this is real issue, or whether some insurance companies are simply reducing their risk concentrations? If an insurance company has too many customers in any one given high risk area (be the risk due to flooding, hurricanes, or fire), they typically will pare back their customers in that area so that a single disaster won’t weigh on them too much.

In other words, homeowners policies are available, but just not from every insurance company.
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RSFPoster
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Later today at 10:53 AM

#2
State Farm is the only major still writing new policies in the area for higher value homes to my knowledge. Chubb pulled out for example.

Some like State Farm claim they will grandfather existing policies if they ever stop writing new in the area.

Others cap what they’ll insure around $1.5mn or so like Nationwide which isn’t helpful for many RSF homes.

I’m sure this has been a boom for the local State Farm agents as home sales soared in the last year.

I’m not an agent just someone who moved last year and did the shopping.

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John6017
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Later today at 11:14 AM

#3
More State Farm anecdotes in the past three weeks: 1)–neighbor with a $4+ million home non-renewed by AIG got insurance from State Farm no problem — State Farm walked his property and said he was all good (no Eucalyptus or palm or pines etc. with defensible space all around). 2)– State Farm told a woman in a village townhouse between the Inn and Post Office they would not renew her fire insurance, but would help her get replacement coverage from the State FAIR fund (limited to $1.5mm) — State Farm prepared her FAIR application and got FAIR insurance, then ‘wrapped’ it with coverage for all other risks — net net, she is still with State Farm but at a significantly higher premium — so, it seems, if your property is fire safe and can withstand scrutiny by an inspector’s site walk State Farm will insure you — Association Staff is aware of a small arroyo in the Village full of trashy trees that is causing insurance companies (like AIG and State Farm) to non-renew Village properties on La Flecha and Via de Santa Fe abutting the arroyo — Staff told me they are working with the RSFFPD to notify individual property owners they must mitigate the risk of trashy trees in the arroyo, or else the FPD will come in, do the work, and levy the cost against the property as a lien on it.

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four
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Later today at 12:05 PM

#4
RSFPoster said:
Others cap what they’ll insure around $1.5mn or so like Nationwide which isn’t helpful for many RSF homes.
Nationwide didn’t question us when we moved 2 yrs ago but our house is only ~2,000 sq ft. That’s in line with what you say, above.

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Later today at 9:56 AM

#5
Wall Street Journal headline today:

Wildfire Risk in California Drives Insurers to Pull Policies for Pricey Homes
AIG and Chubb are cutting back on coverage of multimillion-dollar homes, following years of non-renewals by midrange insurers

WSJ News Exclusive | Wildfire Risk in California Drives Insurers to Pull Policies for Pricey Homes
Concerned about wildfire exposure and frustrated by regulations, insurers in the state already had been cutting back on their homeowner businesses.
http://www.wsj.com

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