Placer supervisors ask governor for insurance state of emergency

Published Sept. 12, 2024

With residents and businesses facing dire insurance affordability challenges, the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a resolution asking California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency for homeowners and commercial property insurance.

In a letter sharing the resolution with the governor and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, the board called for the state to "take immediate emergency regulatory and legislative action to strengthen and stabilize California's marketplace for homeowners insurance and commercial property insurance."

"We're all well aware of the critical impacts the loss of insurance has on homeowners and now businesses, as well," said District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson.

"It's truly a crisis. Placer County, we believe, is the top county in the state for non-renewals. I know that our county and our residents are doing everything they can and they want to do more. But they need to have that recognized. If they're going to harden their homes, and do their defensible space, they need insurance breaks."

More than half of respondents in a July survey of Placer residents reported that their homeowners' insurance policies were either non-renewed or subject to significantly higher premiums.

Meanwhile, Placer County residents and partner agencies have continued working to reduce wildfire risk. Placer County now has the most Firewise USA Communities of any county in the nation, program managers announced Tuesday.

The national Firewise USA recognition program helps neighbors get organized and take action to increase the ignition resistance of their homes and community and to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. Participation in the Firewise USA program can offer residents insurance discounts in certain cases.

Calling for more immediate relief than recent Department of Insurance regulations are likely to achieve, the board's resolution and letter appeal for new emergency regulations to help expand coverage options and improve the DOI's rate approval process. They also raise concerns about the future solvency of the California FAIR Plan, the state's "insurer of last resort" to which so many Placer and California residents have had to turn to maintain coverage.

Shasta and San Bernardino counties' boards of supervisors also passed similar resolutions this year requesting more state assistance with the insurance crisis.

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