California’s Housing Market Faces Fallout From the Insurance Exodus

California's homeowners face a devastating reality as rising insurance premiums force 7% of homebuyers to abandon their dreams. Pastor Dudley Rutherford shares his story of losing coverage after 38 years, exposing the state's growing insurance crisis.

[shaneleonard]

The insurance companies aren't stupid. They knew this was coming...

[mikeflynn]

I worked for an insurance company in the DC metro are. There were sections of DC that you weren't allowed to insure because collecting the premiums wasn't worth the money and aggravation. DC passed a law that said you could not discriminate against parts of the city and you either sell to all of the city or none of it. All policies in DC were cancelled withing a month.

[DJN]

If insurance companies terminate insurance without cause, they should be required to pay a percentage of the premium times the number of month/years of paid back to the customer.

[ExpressYourselfLearning]

Why did the biggest insurance company in California cancel insurance policies A WEEK before the fires??? Sounds really suspicious to me.

[kapirk]

Insurance companies only want to collect money, not pay out. Every time I have had to make a claim, my rates go up so they can get their money back plus more.

[wymple]

I worked at a hotel in HS & we had an insurance salesman who lived in the hotel at monthly rates. I was only 17. He told me to remember all my life that all insurance companies are slime by nature. I'm 76 & never saw him wrong.

[financemarin]

In California, notice of cancellation must be received by the homeowner 20 days before it is effective. So if the pastor received it 1 week before the fire, he was covered.
Unless he was canceled for nonpayment, then he gets 10 days from notice.

[robhunter]

Mandatory Insurance is killing the American dream

[ryanabbott]

Happened to me in Houston. Didn’t look at insurance prices until we were close to closing. Found out how expensive insurance was. Was going to back out of the deal but then the lender says, there is a Texas FAIR insurance policy I can get that’s much cheaper. Well… it was for a reason. When the big freeze came, it busted my sewer line. Texas FAIR wouldn’t pay for it. I spent $15k out of pocket.

[happydisillusion]

Get rid of mandatory insurances if they don't have the same responsibility!

[sazonguzman]

What gets me is every year or every other year. Taxes go up and the city or town revalue the property .. Why...

[RyRch]

Home insurance isn’t mandatory in the UK. Even still, to insure a 4-bed house in London for a YEAR isn’t even $500.

[MrCharlesEldredge]

Very suspicious the insurance companies pulled out a week before this historic fire. I get that it doesn't work for a state to cap insurance premiums. But the insurance companies should have responsibility for customers who paid the high premiums for many many years. And insurance companies DO make huge profits every year. And they take those profits, then the following year they cry poor. That's messed up.

[ciudfhn]

My aunt just had a small water damage in her house, from bathroom, down hallway and in to a bedroom. Carpet insulation, and baseboards need to be replaced. They told her $1000 deposit (sorry, cant think of the word) and her insurance is going to go up by $500 a year! First claim shes made in about 45 years!

[MyName-htir]

Anyone talking about why?? I was told its because they the insurance companies tried to raise rates to cover costs, etc and California said NO aka price controls.

[jennifferwalton]

I worked 8 yrs as an adjuster for a major insurance company company. I know that the are sending the same letters to gulf coast states and Tornado Alley. The reason this is wrong is that the Insurance industry is the wealthiest industries in the country. But I also know that it didn’t JUST happen. The industry has been telling state officials for years that this was coming

[brucekraemer]

All these people that say, "I will rebuild", better have cash or else it's not happening. Period.

[samsonoh]

love this guy
always explaining things so even middle-schooler understand

[casullen]

Well, pay the people back their money! It's theft to just keep their money and cancel what they've been paying for...

[keithpittjr]

Again. Insurance should not be a for profit business because that means that their goal is to NOT pay.