SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The River Fire in 2021 is still a vivid memory for Steve Schisler, as it luckily only touched the back of his property. He explained how living in Grass Valley, you must be fire wise.
“I’ve done that since I got here, been fire conscious,” Schisler said.
He’s put that thinking into practice with a sprinkler system covering practically his entire house.
“I’ve got sprinklers going all the way around through that pasture to protect me for almost 250 feet,” he said.
Not only sprinklers, but a large water tank for firefighters to use, and his roof is also well protected.
“As you can see, this is cement,” said Schisler, tapping on a roof tile.
Even with all these protective measures in place, Schisler noted that he’s at a breaking point with his home and fire insurance costs.
“My coverage cost went from $1,125 in 2000, $3,900 three years ago. Last year was $6,000. This year, is $12,000,” he said.
Schisler, like many others, has sought help from what is meant to be a last resort property insurance option: the California Fair Plan, which is an insurance plan of a pool of insurers, with oversight of the plan given to the state insurance commissioner.
Schisler and others have looked to the Fair Plan, as seven of the twelve major insurance companies have pulled out from the state or writing new policies, according to the state insurance department.
In 2018, 126,000 were on the Fair Plan. Now, more than 350,000 are.
Those in the industry believe a change to state insurance regulations, such as increasing the yearly rate limit increase of 6.9%, could help insurance costs for homeowners by making it more attractive for more companies to do business in the state, says Sky Insurance Brokers managing partner Aurora Mullet.
“California has historically been underpriced compared to other states,” Mullet said. “The insurance companies they’re three or four years behind in actually getting the rates that they need.”
Mullet added that the tipping point was the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, which saw Merced Insurance company become insolvent, sending a shockwave through the industry about what could happen to other insurers, given the state’s increasingly severe wildfires happening more often.
State insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara has announced new regulations that he wants implemented by the end of this year, including allowing insurers to raise rates under a revised model, provide more policies in wildfire-risk areas and better discounts for homes with wildfire defenses.
Whatever the reason for the increased costs, Schisler said, with all his other expenses going up as well, especially his power bill, he’s made a hard choice.
“The cost of living, I’ve had it,” Schisler said. “I’m probably moving to Italy. I can get roughly 150,000 a year for my property here on Airbnb.”
Schisler noted that he’s made peace with the idea of leaving but said he’s sad for those that don’t have that option.