Here we go again. Another insurance company is leaving the State. Even with the recent changes in rules set by Insurance Commission Lara, they made no difference. This I just the start of more firms leaving California. All of us will be paying the bill.
“SafeCo, a subsidiary of California’s fourth-largest home insurer, Liberty Mutual, has announced that it will stop offering policies for new rental and condo customers on January 1, 2025. Existing customers will be able to keep their current policies until 2026.
A spokesperson said that Liberty Mutual will still maintain a presence in the state, although it plans to streamline its services.
Safeco has roughly 88,000 active condominium and renters policies in California, the San Francisco Business Times reported.”
Another insurance company is rolling back coverage in California
by: Austin Turner, KTLA. 12/9/24 https://ktla.com/news/california/yet-another-insurance-company-is-rolling-back-coverage-in-california/
(KTLA) – Another major insurer is pulling back on its offerings in California, forcing tens of thousands of customers to find other options.
SafeCo, a subsidiary of California’s fourth-largest home insurer, Liberty Mutual, has announced that it will stop offering policies for new rental and condo customers on January 1, 2025. Existing customers will be able to keep their current policies until 2026.
A spokesperson said that Liberty Mutual will still maintain a presence in the state, although it plans to streamline its services.
Safeco has roughly 88,000 active condominium and renters policies in California, the San Francisco Business Times reported.
“We are simplifying and focusing our product investments, targeting core lines of business while reducing our menu of product offerings,” a spokesperson for Liberty Mutual said, according to the Times.
Liberty Mutual is the latest in a growing list of insurance companies to pull back on coverage in the nation’s most populous state.
Last year, State Farm General Insurance Company stopped offering property insurance policies in California, including all business and personal property coverage, citing “historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market.”
Allstate made a similar decision last year, and now, with the latest news from Liberty Mutual, insurance options for California residents are becoming increasingly thin.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has introduced a strategy to stabilize the market, including efforts to encourage insurers to stay by addressing climate risks and promoting sustainable practices. A proposal would permit insurers to use computer models to predict future risks when setting premiums while mandating that they provide coverage in high-risk areas proportional to their market share.
Insurance companies have finally learned to not trust anything the California government says it will do or allow to encourage them to stay in the state and continue to offer policies because they will eventually change the rules again to the determent of the insurance industry.