The Travelers Companies said it intends to expand its homeowners insurance offerings across California.
Travelers notified the California Department of Insurance it intends to expand homeowners
insurance availability across the state, explaining in a news release the move is due to the Sustainable In
surance Strategy, which is intended to increase availability by enabling carriers to use forward
-looking wildfire catastrophe models and factor reinsurance costs into rates.
Related: California Insurance Commissioner Race Has Diverse Field Amid ‘Insurance Crisis’
“Offering risk-based pricing for coverage facilitates a fair, competitive and healthy market for all participants,” stated Michael Klein, executive vice president and presi
dent of personal insurance at Travelers. “It will also allow us to responsibly operate thro
ughout the state while supporting our ability to meet our obligations and fulfill our
promise to customers.”
Travelers said it is also increasing its discounts for homeowners who invest in wildfire mitigatio
n through methods such as installing as ember-resistant vents, Class A roofing and increasing defensible space.
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The Sustainable Insurance Strategy, a response to carriers curtailing or halting the writing of h
omeowners insurance in California, has been cited by several carriers in announcements to return to writing business in the state.
The strategy is part of broad efforts by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo
Lara and the CDI to make the sta
te more attractive to insurers. The latest move is an effort to revamp the state’s intervenor process, in w
hich groups or people are paid for intervening in rate hearings.
In January, two carriers announced they were working to expand coverage in wi
ldfire-prone regions of the state in exchange for rate hikes. CSAA Mercury Insuran
ce raised rates 6.9%, a move that was approved under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.
