California Insurance Commissioner Demands Insurers Cut Rates For Wildfire Retrofits

As an insurance crisis persists in California wildfire country, state regulators are preparing to order companies to offer discounts to homeowners who install double-pane windows, fire-safe roofs or take other steps to reduce the danger to properties.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara outlined a proposal Friday to require insurers to incorporate his just-announced ‘Safer from Wildfire’ program into their premiums rates.

Insurers wouldn’t be required to sell policies to anyone. But when they do, they’d have to provide discounts to residents and business owners who follow Lara’s safety suggestions by retrofitting their properties with fire-resilient materials, diligently clearing their yards of flammable debris and participating in community-wide ‘hardening’ programs.

While the Department of Insurance can’t order insurers where to sell coverage, it does have broad authority over how much companies can charge policyholders.

The shortage of affordable insurance coverage has become a major issue in the Sierra foothills and other fire-prone regions of the state.