California

Regulator says it will rule urgently; Consumer Watchdog says insurer must disclose more information to justify an increase.

(Bloomberg) --State Farm, the largest home insurer in California, is asking for an emergency rate hike from state regulators as it warns that multibillion-dollar payouts from the Los Angeles wildfires threaten its balance sheet and the broader insurance market.

Terms of home insurance policies and rising construction costs will affect how those who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires can rebuild.

Tech companies Wuuii and ZestyAI enhance underwriting with risk evaluation capabilities.

The legislation would permit a state government conduit issuer to sell bonds to bolster the last-resort FAIR Plan in the wake of Los Angeles-area wildfires.

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.

It's not an unthinkable notion. There have been a handful of attempts at systematically moving populations away from regions severely affected by climate change.