Insurers Dropped Nearly 350,000 California Homeowners With Wildfire Risk

After two disastrous fire seasons, California officials have been besieged by homeowners in fire-prone areas complaining that their insurance premiums are skyrocketing or their plans are suddenly being dropped.

Now regulators finally have a better idea of just how bad the problem is.

The number of rural homeowners dropped by insurance companies topped 340,000 in just four years, according to figures released Tuesday by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s staff.

The non-renewals increased by 6 percent last year, translating into 88,187 homeowners forced to find replacement coverage in 2018 alone — often at much higher prices.