Californians abandoned by insurers testify to state officials

Two Californians who lost insurance coverage due to fire risk shared their stories with the California Assembly Insurance Committee hearing on tariff reform on September 17, as well as a press conference before the hearing, outside the venue, Los Angeles City Hall.

Bruce Breslau, a resident in a 290-unit homeowner association (HOA) in Chatsworth, Calif., lost coverage when Farmers dropped the entire HOA earlier this year, he said.

“Our broker was forced to find coverage from what’s called the non-admitted market. These are unregulated insurers, so if they go bankrupt and we have a claim, we’re out in the cold too,” Breslau said. press conference. “The other side of that coin is that we have 50 percent of the coverage we had last year. Last year we had 100% full coverage.

Along with lower coverage, the HOA premium increased from $349,000 to $1.7 million, according to Breslau, meaning a special assessment of at least $5,000 for each HOA member.

“It’s very difficult to find $5,000 in a middle-class association, and that’s just for this year. We have a variety of people, a diverse community, old, young, all other beliefs, and we have many people who are on fixed incomes. They are elderly people strikes (summer 2023).”

Speaking at an Assembly hearing later in the day, Breslau said: “I heard the commissioner say things today. I don’t see any immediate relief.” He explained that several residents of his HOA have written letters about the coverage issue to Lara, their state assembly member and senator, and Consumer Watchdog. The assembly responded, and Lara responded with a form letter that did not address their situation, according to Breslau. Consumer Watchdog responded immediately, he said.

“I was very surprised to hear some of the jabs (Lara) took at this organization (Consumer Watchdog),” Breslau told the Assembly committee.

Gigi Bannister, a resident of Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains, was abandoned by ranchers in 2019 and entered California’s FAIR wildfire coverage plan. She also bought a policy to cover other types of property loss, but it denied her claim for $40,000 after an ice storm destroyed an outdoor deck in 2023.

“I’m doing everything I can to keep the brush clean and mitigate the fire. We should be able to get reasonable rates, reasonable price, regular home insurance if we keep our places safe,” she said. “Commissioner Lara is not doing her job. She’s letting insurance companies get away with high-risk premiums and letting them raise rates but not expand coverage.”