The year 2024 has been a decisive year in our insurance market. Insurance companies, big and small, have left California, won’t renew current policies, or have simply stopped accepting new homeowner’s policies.
Here in Santa Barbara County, we have been hit especially hard considering that large parts of our county are designated as high or very high fire zones.
With so much bad news swirling around about the dire insurance situation, what can a homeowner or business owner do?
Throughout 2024, Ricardo LaraCalifornia Department of Insurance commissioner, has tried to alleviate the insurance crisis. He has negotiated a “historic deal” that will allow insurance companies to use new technology tools to set prices, but only if those companies insure more homes in wildfires.
Will this “historic deal” help the Santa Barbara region? It’s hard to know.
Currently, the way insurance companies determine risk is using historical data analysis. In other words, they use past events and claims to provide insights into the frequency and severity of risks.
If this new deal becomes a reality, insurance companies will use catastrophe models to assess the risk exposures in a portfolio. This means that insurance companies will use models to estimate future catastrophic events when assessing your property.
What I have explained above is only a snapshot of the “historical deal”, but I think it is better if you hear it directly from the Department of Insurance to understand new policy requirements, get expert information and get your problems fixed.
I would like to personally invite you to the Let’s Talk Insurance: Community Town Hall Meeting, 5:30 pm on Wednesday, November 13th. You can register for the free event at www.sbaor.org.
