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The Los Angeles Fires Will Put California’s New Insurance Rules to the Test
The state’s insurance industry was reformed in late 2024 to promote coverage in disaster-prone areas. Tens of billions in fire damage will stress-test the new regime.
On Tuesday, after a ferocious Santa Ana windstorm blew through Southern California, a severe brush fire broke out in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, burning 1,000 structures and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate as of Wednesday afternoon. The requirement to expand coverage, coupled with recent announcements from companies like Mercury, “should give consumers hope that competition and options will be returning,” said Amy Bach, the head of insurance customer advocacy group United Policyholders, in a statement. Joel Laucher, a former regulator and fire insurance expert at the consumer advocacy organization United Policyholders, said that the damage from the Los Angeles blazes could lead to further price hikes and more availability gaps.
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