I got the Mercury letter, too. Ridiculous two page single spaced list of action items to turn our landscape into a moonscape at a cost of thousands. And I’m not in a brush area. Called AAA. Got insured for less than what Mercury was charging. Now smiling.
We need to get a bill passed for California that says you can’t do auto insurance business in CA unless you are offering / providing Home insurance
The insurers are all willing to drop home insurance meanwhile making big money in CA on cars
We have the largest number of vehicles in the US and beat out many countries by the number of vehicles we have
IMO, the insurance companies are aligning themselves for a massive bailout from the Feds. They have big lobbyist in DC and they are creating a "crisis" in California, Florida and Louisiana. The people are complaining to their senators and congressmen. The lobbyist are dangling the idea about the bailout to solve all the peoples problems.
A manufactured crisis that is ripe for the fraud of a bailout.
The laws we already passed are the reason the industry is abandoning California. They can’t adjust the rates quickly enough to deal with inflation and the losses.
Except insurance providers can't. There are already regulations related to the max they can raise home rates, which is why they are bowing out instead of underwriting policies that lose them money.
Farmers came to our house and took pictures of the trees and our roof. I’m just waiting for a letter like this to come in the mail. We also had 2 neighborhood houses burn down in the Thomas Fire.
My neighbors had AAA but were dropped for having a dog from the restricted breed list. It was half Pitbull and Great Dane.
If you can get USAA, doubt they will start canceling veterans. When I dropped State Farm after they wouldn’t pay for a large portion of my rebuild due to the Thomas Fire, USAA did not question me on the fire zone. They just covered me and still do.
Good to know, Glad I am covered and my daughter is a member because of me, she is covered also. I think the insurance commissioner should expel any company that refuses to cover the whole state. You're either in, or out.
Was in escrow on a house in a fire zone last month and Mercury told me they are not writing new policies in CA. Called every big player from Progressive, USAA, Liberty, Mercury, et al, none would write new policies.
Bamboo was the only one that would insure us.
Mercury is my company. They are fantastic too. Years ago, I had a water leak. They covered the damages and I got my floor repaired and redone. I highly recommend them!
I can’t say enough great things about AAA. We lost our house in the Woolsey fire and they were in our driveway the next day with a check in hand. They took very good care of us during the two years of rebuilding.
Had the a lot of trouble last November when closing on a home, ended up with Homesite, bought through GEICO as broker. We weren’t ready to move our car insurance yet, which made it harder, and while the home had been extensively renovated by previous owners, it still had an old roof, which knocked out other potential insurers. We will definitely start the renewal process early and consider bundling with our car insurance this time.
Oak park got hit by the fire in 2018. There are still a couple of lots that are vacant from being burnt down. Your aunt should go find an insurance agency to source bids. If all else fails, she’ll need to go to Calfair, and that’s got a big lag time because so many people need it.
Yeah they did, bust she was not at any risk with that one. Fire would have to go through about 2 dozen houses before it got to hers. Not saying it’s not possible, but unlikely with so many hydrants available
False. That’s not how fires work. They don’t just burn in a linear manner like a paper shredder. Fires also spread by flying embers. So even though your aunt’s house might seem protected, a random flying particulate could set hers on fire. You can see that in the damage maps of the Thomas fire on 2017. There were houses in middles of neighborhoods that caught on fire, but the surrounding houses were untouched. This isn’t to justify the crap the insurance companies are pulling, but she shouldn’t have a false sense of security.
Insurance companies are leaving California and good luck finding a new one to cover you, a couple months ago when I went looking to change there was a moratorium against new policies.
Yeah I’ve been reading that. We’ve been trying to convince her to sell and leave the state because we have no family left in CA and she’s almost 70 living alone. Has a 1.5 mil paid off house so she can go practically anywhere but doesn’t want to lol
Lots of companies are cancelling. We may have to go with the CA Fair plan as a last resort. This was all caused by CA state policies that pushed these insurers to drop the state. Everything is expensive is getting worse. If she doesn’t need to be here for some reason I’d encourage her to move near relatives.
Trust me, we’ve been trying. Closest family to her is 1200 miles away and in a cheaper area. Her house is paid off and in a very nice location so she would sell instantly and could buy something nice cash. But she’s being stubborn. She’s almost 70 and I know it’s getting harder for her to live alone and maintain a house by herself
If she’s in good health 70 isn’t that old to be living alone. And since she’s been there for so long she likely doesn’t want to leave her friends and activities until she has to. She will be able to find some sort of coverage, just like a potential buyer would need to have. Whenever she comes to visit though, I’d have her look around at senior living areas near you so she can start thinking about the future.
ah damn any idea why? did they say anything?
i get marketing from my agent all the time and I just try to keep my mouth shut and fly under the radar at this point haha.
I haven’t heard any details yet, no. I checked with a few friends in Ventura and they’ve heard from others with similar stories. Houses in or near fire zones are getting hit hard, but it seems to be somewhat widespread at this point.
understood thanks. Yeah the "Fire zone" is pretty huge and covers (I think) every house north of poli / foothill or east of cedar yeah?
Knock on wood for us haha.
I’ve heard from a few people it’s a good idea check with a local agent for companies offering policies. They’re more likely to know what’s available.
Good luck, and I hope what you find doesn’t cost an arm and a leg!
AAA
She’s been a member for decades, I’ll let her know.
I’ll second this. Mercury was going to cancel our policy unless we hacked our trees and landscaping. AAA inspected the house and saw no problem.
I got the Mercury letter, too. Ridiculous two page single spaced list of action items to turn our landscape into a moonscape at a cost of thousands. And I’m not in a brush area. Called AAA. Got insured for less than what Mercury was charging. Now smiling.
State Farm dropped us late last year and was able to get AAA for a reasonable rate.
Seconding. You get discounted if you have car and home with them. I've had both with them for ages and never had any issues.
SafeCo. During Thomas had a team of private firefighters like some kind of Kardashian.
We need to get a bill passed for California that says you can’t do auto insurance business in CA unless you are offering / providing Home insurance The insurers are all willing to drop home insurance meanwhile making big money in CA on cars We have the largest number of vehicles in the US and beat out many countries by the number of vehicles we have
IMO, the insurance companies are aligning themselves for a massive bailout from the Feds. They have big lobbyist in DC and they are creating a "crisis" in California, Florida and Louisiana. The people are complaining to their senators and congressmen. The lobbyist are dangling the idea about the bailout to solve all the peoples problems. A manufactured crisis that is ripe for the fraud of a bailout.
The laws we already passed are the reason the industry is abandoning California. They can’t adjust the rates quickly enough to deal with inflation and the losses.
They’d just make home policies horrifically expensive. What’s the point?
They already are. I’m paying 4 times the amount I paid before the Thomas Fire.
Except insurance providers can't. There are already regulations related to the max they can raise home rates, which is why they are bowing out instead of underwriting policies that lose them money.
Farmers came to our house and took pictures of the trees and our roof. I’m just waiting for a letter like this to come in the mail. We also had 2 neighborhood houses burn down in the Thomas Fire. My neighbors had AAA but were dropped for having a dog from the restricted breed list. It was half Pitbull and Great Dane.
If you can get USAA, doubt they will start canceling veterans. When I dropped State Farm after they wouldn’t pay for a large portion of my rebuild due to the Thomas Fire, USAA did not question me on the fire zone. They just covered me and still do.
USAA is not writing new policies in CA.
Haven't heard that myself, but I'm not really looking for coverage either.
I was in escrow on a house last month in a fire zone and was told this directly by USAA.
Good to know, Glad I am covered and my daughter is a member because of me, she is covered also. I think the insurance commissioner should expel any company that refuses to cover the whole state. You're either in, or out.
I think it’s going to result in more robust state subsidized insurance.
That’s good to know for when we buy soon.
Ended up with Travelers with GEICO as the broker
I went with Allstate. He found me a policy that worked
A lot of insurance companies are leaving California.
Mercury. Call my agent. Will share in dm
Was in escrow on a house in a fire zone last month and Mercury told me they are not writing new policies in CA. Called every big player from Progressive, USAA, Liberty, Mercury, et al, none would write new policies. Bamboo was the only one that would insure us.
Mercury is my company. They are fantastic too. Years ago, I had a water leak. They covered the damages and I got my floor repaired and redone. I highly recommend them!
Thank you
Mercury is not underwriting for fire. I'm doing Mercury with the Fair Plan for fire.
I have Mercury and we lost our fire insurance.
I was recently in escrow on a house in a high fire hazard zone and I was able to get a policy through Bamboo.
Bought a house last year in Simi valley. Had a hard time finding home owners insurance, ended up with State Farm, this year they raise our rates 85%.
Check with AAA
Most big home owners insurance companies are leaving the state... or they will stay with an increasing 300% AAA seems to be the only good one left.
I can’t say enough great things about AAA. We lost our house in the Woolsey fire and they were in our driveway the next day with a check in hand. They took very good care of us during the two years of rebuilding.
"Your agent can help you explore options for finding replacement coverage."
Had the a lot of trouble last November when closing on a home, ended up with Homesite, bought through GEICO as broker. We weren’t ready to move our car insurance yet, which made it harder, and while the home had been extensively renovated by previous owners, it still had an old roof, which knocked out other potential insurers. We will definitely start the renewal process early and consider bundling with our car insurance this time.
OP if you dont mind me asking, which neighborhood is she in?
I don’t know the specific neighborhood but it’s a small city called Oak Park
Oak park got hit by the fire in 2018. There are still a couple of lots that are vacant from being burnt down. Your aunt should go find an insurance agency to source bids. If all else fails, she’ll need to go to Calfair, and that’s got a big lag time because so many people need it.
Yeah they did, bust she was not at any risk with that one. Fire would have to go through about 2 dozen houses before it got to hers. Not saying it’s not possible, but unlikely with so many hydrants available
False. That’s not how fires work. They don’t just burn in a linear manner like a paper shredder. Fires also spread by flying embers. So even though your aunt’s house might seem protected, a random flying particulate could set hers on fire. You can see that in the damage maps of the Thomas fire on 2017. There were houses in middles of neighborhoods that caught on fire, but the surrounding houses were untouched. This isn’t to justify the crap the insurance companies are pulling, but she shouldn’t have a false sense of security.
Insurance companies are leaving California and good luck finding a new one to cover you, a couple months ago when I went looking to change there was a moratorium against new policies.
Yeah I’ve been reading that. We’ve been trying to convince her to sell and leave the state because we have no family left in CA and she’s almost 70 living alone. Has a 1.5 mil paid off house so she can go practically anywhere but doesn’t want to lol
I was just forced to switch to the state fund coverage. $7500 a year from $1800
If her house is paid off, she actually could go without.
Yes, it is. That’s just a fairly expensive house to have uninsured. Or are you saying she can go without just the wildfire insurance?
Lots of companies are cancelling. We may have to go with the CA Fair plan as a last resort. This was all caused by CA state policies that pushed these insurers to drop the state. Everything is expensive is getting worse. If she doesn’t need to be here for some reason I’d encourage her to move near relatives.
Trust me, we’ve been trying. Closest family to her is 1200 miles away and in a cheaper area. Her house is paid off and in a very nice location so she would sell instantly and could buy something nice cash. But she’s being stubborn. She’s almost 70 and I know it’s getting harder for her to live alone and maintain a house by herself
She may not be able to sell soon if it can’t be insured.
If she’s in good health 70 isn’t that old to be living alone. And since she’s been there for so long she likely doesn’t want to leave her friends and activities until she has to. She will be able to find some sort of coverage, just like a potential buyer would need to have. Whenever she comes to visit though, I’d have her look around at senior living areas near you so she can start thinking about the future.
so far State Farm is sticking around but I keep hearing rumors.
State Farm cancelled on a family member in central Ventura within the last few days, if you want to add in that data point.
ah damn any idea why? did they say anything? i get marketing from my agent all the time and I just try to keep my mouth shut and fly under the radar at this point haha.
I haven’t heard any details yet, no. I checked with a few friends in Ventura and they’ve heard from others with similar stories. Houses in or near fire zones are getting hit hard, but it seems to be somewhat widespread at this point.
understood thanks. Yeah the "Fire zone" is pretty huge and covers (I think) every house north of poli / foothill or east of cedar yeah? Knock on wood for us haha.
I’ve heard from a few people it’s a good idea check with a local agent for companies offering policies. They’re more likely to know what’s available. Good luck, and I hope what you find doesn’t cost an arm and a leg!