LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2024 – Approximately 750,000 residents in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County, affected by the wildfires in Southern California, will have their home insurance coverage extended for another year.
As of Friday afternoon, the “Line Fire” in San Bernardino County, the “Airport Fire” in Orange County, and the “Bridge Fire” in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County continue to burn, with a total area of 117,546 acres engulfed in flames.
These three wildfires have not only resulted in 22 injuries and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate or prepare to evacuate, but also put around 70,000 private residences and buildings at risk. Among them, 57 structures have been damaged, with over 200 homes completely destroyed.
While homeowners typically purchase home insurance, California is currently facing a cold season in the insurance industry. Many major insurance companies have stopped accepting new policies, limited the number of new policies, or completely withdrawn from the California market. This has left many residents in disaster-stricken areas worried that their hard-earned homes might not be covered in case of fire damage.
In response, the California Department of Insurance has announced a mandatory one-year moratorium, stating that homeowners in the vicinity or neighboring areas of the “Line Fire,” “Airport Fire,” and “Bridge Fire” will not be denied renewal or canceled by insurance companies, regardless of whether they have suffered losses, for one year from the declaration of the state of emergency.
This moratorium provides relief for approximately 750,000 residential insurance policyholders in the four counties.
Ricardo Lara, the Insurance Commissioner of California, stated, “Wildfire survivors can rest assured about insurance issues during the recovery period. This temporary protection will also help alleviate fears and stabilize the market during the implementation of reforms we are conducting this year.”
Residents can check their zip codes on the Department of Insurance website to see if they fall under the protection of the mandatory moratorium. Insurance officials also advise the public to remain vigilant as there are often fraudsters taking advantage of disasters to scam people.
On the other hand, Lara acknowledged that California must reform outdated insurance regulations and address long-neglected issues to navigate through this cold season.
Multiple industry experts, in previous interviews with Dajiyuan, pointed out that California’s policies are one of the root causes leading to the continuous exit of insurance companies from the homeowner insurance market. The government’s control over insurance rates and laws prohibiting insurance companies from passing on “reinsurance” costs to customers have resulted in market imbalances. The historic surge in construction costs surpassing inflation rates, rapidly escalating disaster risks, among other factors, have forced insurance companies to withdraw from the market.
Among the three ongoing wildfires in Southern California, as of the deadline, the situation is most severe in the “Bridge Fire”: with an area of 54,795 acres burned and a containment rate of only 59%. Evacuation orders and warnings issued by law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties remain in effect.
The “Airport Fire” currently has a containment rate of 51%, with an area of 23,519 acres burned, and some evacuation orders and warnings in Orange County and Riverside County are still in place.
The “Line Fire” has burned 39,232 acres with a containment rate of 53%, and some areas are still under evacuation orders.