Michael Shashoua

A round up of announcements and actions by the state's insurance regulator, a consumer advocate and an industry trade association.

After the California wildfires, other state governments are reacting to wildfire mitigation and related insurance coverage issues, proposing bills or announcing plans for action.

The state's insurance crisis, worsened by the L.A. wildfires, has people talking about measures including mitigating risk, price signaling and even moving residents out of risky areas.

The California State Assembly has introduced a bill to issue catastrophe bonds to shore up the state's last-resort property insurance, the FAIR Plan. Bonds would remove the burden of L.A. wildfire fallout from taxpayers, insureds and insurers. But analysts say a nationalized risk pool might be necessary.

AI-evaluated insurance claims denials can depend on characteristics of the claimant, not just the merits of their claim. AI may not be a reason or the only reason for a claim denial, experts say.

The North Carolina Rate Bureau, representing home insurers, settled for two 7.5% increases this year and next, after originally seeking a 42% rate increase. NCRB says the settlement just postpones the need for higher rates to accurately cover risks, while the insurance commissioner calls it "a big win" for homeowners.

The insurance market going into the Jan. 7 catastrophe already had been hit with non-renewals and cancellations -- and an overburdened state-supported insurance plan. A Morningstar analyst said the state insurance commissioner's reform strategy could have turned it around but now faces new obstacles.

A round up of announcements and actions by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the state's Department of Insurance to assist residents with claims and insurance-related issues.

The National Flood Insurance Program has been kept alive with short-term authorizations since 2017. Flood risk data and increased use could strengthen it.

The California FAIR Plan Association, already vulnerable financially, will likely need an assessment of insurers or policyholders as a rescue measure, according to experts.

Verisk and Moody's are the first two modeling companies to submit their models to the California Department of Insurance. A Verisk executive explained the functioning of their model and what insurers' options are.

The market for cyber breach reinsurance coverage is increasing, and policies are becoming more specialized, according to cyber insurance executives from Guy Carpenter, Aon, Liberty Mutual and Swiss Re.

Digital Insurance spoke with Mark de Waal, head of premium audit at Davies, about how premium audit technology is being updated to better serve small businesses' changing risks.

Alla Reznik, a cybersecurity technology expert at Verizon Business, spoke about measures and services small businesses can use to reduce their risks.

Academics with opposing views argued, in a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing, whether inflation and litigation, rather than climate change, are causing home insurance non-renewals and rate hikes.

American Forestry, a non-profit conservation group, partners with Travelers to promote proactive fire prevention methods for homeowners.

The California Department of Insurance and its commissioner hosted a public workshop where consumer advocates and insurers staked their positions on who should pay for the net cost of reinsurance and why.

A study by risk analytics firm Climate X projects which of the 12 U.S. venues and 25 European venues will suffer the most environmental damage by 2050.

Stadium owners' insurance rider choices can determine how they can recover from climate-related damage.

Digital Insurance spoke with a cyber insurer's technology expert about how different intrusions, such as deep fake scams, are covered, and the importance of protecting customer data.