We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Screenshot: X

As wildfires ravage Southern California, homeowners in Pacific Palisades find themselves grappling with an unbearable reality: their homes are burning, and their insurance policies—once their safety net—were canceled just months ago by State Farm.

In a move justified by the company as a strategy to avoid “financial failure,” State Farm canceled over 72,000 homeowners’ policies statewide, with Pacific Palisades—a now-charred affluent neighborhood—bearing a significant brunt.

James Woods, a renowned actor and Pacific Palisades resident, summed up the community’s frustration on social media.

“Actually, one of the major insurance companies canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago,” he wrote.

Another resident, watching her family home of 75 years succumb to flames, shared with ABC News.

“My parents are 90 years old. They lived in this house for 75 years and had the same insurance policy. Then State Farm decided to cancel it. They’re now left with nothing. Thank you, California insurance companies, for abandoning taxpaying residents who love this state. And they wonder why people are leaving California in droves.”

WATCH:

State Farm’s mass cancellations came on the heels of its March 2024 announcement to cease issuing new homeowners’ policies in California entirely, according to Newsweek.

State Farm announced in April 2024 that it would cancel a total of 72,000 policies in California, including 30,000 homes.

About 1,600 insured homes in Pacific Palisades lost coverage due to this decision.

State Farm announced in March 2024:

“State Farm General Insurance Company (“State Farm General”) is working to ensure its long-term sustainability in California. In doing so, State Farm General has had to make some difficult but necessary decisions that will impact a portion of our California policyholders as follows:

Non-renew approximately 30,000 homeowners, rental dwelling, and other property insurance policies (residential community association and business owners). (A rental dwelling policy insures rental home owners. Renters insurance is not affected.)

Withdraw from offering commercial apartment policies with the non-renewal of all of those approximately 42,000 policies. (A commercial apartment policy insures apartment owners. Renters insurance is not affected.)

These actions are California-specific and will occur on a rolling basis over the next year, beginning on July 3, 2024, for homeowners, rental dwelling, residential community association and business owners policies and on August 20, 2024, for commercial apartment policies. Combined, these policies represent just over 2% of State Farm General’s policy count in California.

This decision was not made lightly and only after careful analysis of State Farm General’s financial health, which continues to be impacted by inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance costs, and the limitations of working within decades-old insurance regulations. State Farm General takes seriously our responsibility to maintain adequate claims-paying capacity for our customers and to comply with applicable financial solvency laws. It is necessary to take these actions now.

We also recognize the Insurance Commissioner’s proposed regulatory reforms, such as streamlining the rate application process, accounting for catastrophe modeling and reinsurance costs in rates, and addressing FAIR Plan vulnerabilities. We will continue to work constructively with the California Department of Insurance, the Governor’s Office, and policymakers to actively pursue these reforms in order to establish an environment in which insurance rates are better aligned with risk.

We will notify customers impacted by this decision in advance of their policy expiration to provide information on other coverage options. State Farm independent contractor agents licensed in California will continue to service policies not impacted by these decisions. State Farm General’s May 2023 decision regarding new applications remains unchanged. We will evaluate the need for any additional business actions as market conditions change.”

This corporate retreat, echoed by other private insurers, has forced countless homeowners into the state-run FAIR Plan—a last-resort insurance program that has seen its enrollment more than double since 2020.

Newsweek reported:

Several private insurers have cut coverage in at-risk areas across California in the past three years, leaving homeowners scrambling to find options for coverage. As a result, California’s FAIR Plan, which works as an insurer of last resort in the state, has more than doubled its policies between 2020 and 2024, reaching a total of 452,000, as reported by CapRadio.

Most insurers who have limited their offer in the state mentioned the rising wildfire risk as well as the state’s regulations as the main reasons behind their decision. Unable to increase their premiums to a level that will match their growing risk, companies have decided instead to cut coverage.

This has triggered an ongoing property insurance sector crisis in the Golden State as homeowners are finding it increasingly harder to find coverage at a time when they so desperately need it.