Home insurance companies responded to the growing threat of wildfires by raising premiums for current clients and removing new coverage in the months before the outbreak of the infernos currently burning through Los Angeles County.
Other Americans are now checking to see if local insurers have been implementing similar adjustments.
This very subject was recently discussed by the U.S. Senate. According to the number of canceled policies and the magnitude of premium hikes, the Senate Budget Committee published a study last month that identified the states and counties with the biggest changes to their insurance profiles.
Naturally, hurricane-prone areas in Florida and Louisiana, along with a large portion of California, were at the top of the list. Along with portions of southern New England, the Carolinas, New Mexico, the northern Rockies, and Hawaii, Oklahoma also made a significant appearance. In Oklahoma, residents have seen significant wind and hail damage as a result of the increasing severity of tornadoes.
23 distinct carriers’ responses from 2018 to 2023 served as the basis for the Senate report. Approximately 65% of the national homes insurance market is made up of such companies.
One inconsistency in the report that may be explained by the incomplete answer is that Los Angeles County, where the fires have been burning since January 7, was not included as one of the regions with the most insurance trouble.
The report’s lead staffer, Erica Handloff, told NBC News that the low response rate could contribute to the explanation of that disparity. The fact that respondents did not include co-op and condo policies may also have had an impact.
According to the Senate statistics, the counties in California that were most severely impacted were located in the state’s northern and interior regions, indicating that the destiny that has befallen Southern California may eventually be repeated elsewhere in the state.
A searchable database of nonrenewal rates by county can be found below.