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 Insurance Strategy, which is intended to increase availability by enabling carriers to use forward-looking wildfire catastrophe models and factor reinsurance costs into rates.
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“Offering risk-based pricing for coverage facilitates a fair, competitive and healthy market for all participants,” stated Michael Klein, executive vice president and president of personal insurance at Travelers. “It will also allow us to responsibly operate throughout 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 mitigation through methods such as installing as ember-resistant vents, Class A roofing and increasing defensible space.
The Sustainable Insurance Strategy, a response to carriers curtailing or halting the writing of homeowners 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 state more attractive to insurers. The latest move is an effort to revamp the state’s intervenor process, in which groups or people are paid for intervening in rate hearings.
In January, two carriers announced they were working to expand coverage in wildfire-prone regions of the state in exchange for rate hikes. CSAA Mercury Insurance raised rates 6.9%, a move that was approved under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.
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Farmers Insurance in late November announced it would eliminate a cap on the number of homeowners insurance policies it offers in California. The cap removal was made in anticipation of an improved homeowners insurance market in California, according to the carrier. Farmers homeowners offerings had been capped at 9,500 new policies per month.
Fourteen of 20 most destructive wildfires in California have occurred in the last 10 years. The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which included the Eaton and Palisades fires (the second and third worst in state history) cost several large carriers in excess of $1 billion, are seen as a tipping point for the state’s insurance crisis. In response to the L.A. wildfires, several regulatory changes have been enacted and numerous pieces of state legislation were passed or are making their way through Legislature.
Top photo: The 2025 Pacific Palisades Fire. Photo by CalFire.
Topics
California
Homeowners
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