California considers new rules for property insurance pricing
California is considering new rules for property insurance pricing. The state's insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, has proposed several reforms, including: Requiring insurance companies to write more policies in high-risk areas. Currently, insurance companies are allowed to redline certain areas, meaning they can refuse to write policies there. Lara's proposal would require companies to write a certain percentage of their policies in high-risk areas, such as those prone to wildfires. Creating a statewide insurance pool. This pool would be made up of all insurance companies operating in California. It would be responsible for covering losses in high-risk areas where companies are unwilling to write policies. Limiting the amount that insurance companies can raise rates. Currently, insurance companies can raise rates by up to 10% per year without approval from the state. Lara's proposal would limit rate increases to 5% per year. These reforms are aimed at making prope