California Adopts New Regulations to Address Home Insurance Crisis

The new rules will require insurers to carry 85 percent of their portfolios in high-risk areas, change how rates are calculated, and allow faster approval.

Firefighters try to keep flames from a burning home from spreading to a neighboring apartment complex as they battle the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2018. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Policy adaptations announced Sept. 21 by the California Department of Insurance aim to increase availability and bring insurers back to the state, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order (pdf), issued the same day, requesting the department’s commissioner act to address the state’s insurance crisis.

“It is critical that California’s insurance market works to protect homes and businesses in every corner of our state,” Mr. Newsom said in a press release announcing his order. “A balanced approach that will help maintain fair prices and protections for Californians is essential.”