Fair Plan growth in low-risk areas complicates depopulation; lawmakers hear clearinghouse and other legislative fixes

Growth of California Fair Plan policies into non-wildfire areas and several pending bills to adjust coverage and market mechanics were central topics at an Assembly Insurance Committee oversight hearing.

Victoria Roach, president of the California Fair Plan, told the committee the plan’s growth has accelerated since 2018 and that the organization is ‘‘closer to a take-all comers’’ approach than intended — in part because admitted carriers have reduced writing across some areas. ‘‘We are the insurer of last resort,’’ Roach said. ‘‘Today, that's not what's happening... people are coming to us first.’’

Nut graf: Committee members heard that depopulation — moving policyholders from the Fair Plan back to admitted carriers — depends on multiple factors: availability of admitted-market capacity, actuarially sound Fair Plan rates that do not undercut the admitted market, and operational tools such as the…