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State insurance official outlines FAIR Plan reforms as La Verne residents report steep premium spikes
Summary
A California Department of Insurance representative briefed La Verne council on FAIR Plan reforms and wildfire-mitigation incentives after residents described homeowners premiums rising several hundred percent; the department said it is pushing insurers to write more policies in distressed wildfire areas and to make risk scores transparent.
A representative of the California Department of Insurance told the La Verne City Council on July 1 that the state is pursuing several regulatory and market measures to address a statewide homeowners-insurance crisis that has left some La Verne residents with premiums they call unaffordable.
Julia Warez, speaking on behalf of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, said the FAIR Plan was created as an insurer of last resort and now covers about 3% of the California homeowners market. She described state efforts including the "Safer from Wildfires" framework, requiring insurers to consider homeowner mitigation measures when setting rates, improving transparency of wildfire risk scores, and pushing insurers to write a minimum share of homes in high-risk areas.
The briefing came after multiple residents described dramatic premium increases. Resident Bryce told the council his annual homeowners premium rose from about $2,000 when he moved to the area to nearly $12,000 now, a roughly 600% increase in two years. "My insurance premium was about $2,000 and then last year it increased to over $8,000 and this year it's... almost $12,000," Bryce said during public comment.
Warez told the council the Department is working with the governor and other agencies to bring insurers back into the market and to depopulate the FAIR Plan by encouraging admitted carriers to resume writing policies. She said the FAIR Plan currently offers a 15% discount tied to mitigation actions and has increased HOA coverage levels (staff described raising certain HOA coverage to $20 million in some cases). She also emphasized consumer supports: a Department hotline and the ability for consumers to contest proprietary wildfire-risk scores used by insurers.
Council members and residents pressed the Department on two local issues: why La Verne ZIP codes were not included in some insurer-targeted lists used to prioritize new-writing efforts, and the need to coordinate fuel‑management and brush‑clearing where state wildlife restrictions complicate local mitigation. Warez and staff offered to follow up and said Department staff can provide community presentations, liaison contacts, and written guidance on mitigation steps that may reduce premiums.
The Department repeatedly framed the problem as a market crisis driven by wildfire risk, reinsurance costs and historic loss ratios; it also urged residents to pursue Firewise-community formation and local mitigation grants that can reduce community risk and make properties more attractive to carriers.
The council did not take any formal policy votes on insurance at the meeting but asked staff and the Department to report back with specific steps to help residents and to explore ways the city can support Firewise efforts and outreach for at-risk neighborhoods.
