Farmers Insurance had covered Don Baker’s light-gray house with powder-blue trim since he and his family moved to Boulder Creek 13 years ago. A few weeks ago, he got notice his policy won’t be renewed after it expires in August.
Baker looked around and got an offer from State Farm to cover his home nestled among redwood trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But the agent withdrew it the next day, just before the nation’s largest insurer issued a stunning announcement saying it won’t write new home policies anywhere in California.
“It was just out of the blue,” the 56-year-old roofer said. “I’m definitely in a pinch. Now I’m just kind of scrambling to get quotes.”
SEE MORE: Housing developments could be delayed amid insurance struggles
Baker is among millions of Californians seeing their home insurance rates rise sharply — if they can keep their policies at all. And it isn’t just affecting people who live in areas scorched by fires or inundated by floods.
Sharon Reeves said State Farm notified her last month that her policy on her San Ramon condominium — a policy she’s had for some 50 years — won’t be renewed. She believes it’s because she filed two claims in the past six years for hotel stays when her unit was damaged by a neighbor’s pipe leak. But she said she never was given the option of paying more than her $500 monthly premium.
“It’s devastating,” Reeves, 71, said. “I feel like I have to move out. I’m on Social Security. I can’t afford to be uninsured.”
RELATED: California homeowners could continue losing insurance as wildfire threat looms
Even those who are still insured are feeling the pinch. Leslie and David Granger have seen their AAA premiums for their south San Jose home soar, from under $1,000 a year in 2019 to $1,867 this year. They were told it was due to “wild fire devastation throughout the state of California,” plus inflation, increased labor costs, and increased rebuilding materials…
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