Subject: Home Owners insurance post LA fires
I have a house in on the fringe of the National Forest in Taos, New Mexico. It is in a neighborhood of large lots with a rather sparse mix of pinon pine and sagebrush. It certainly has the potential for a catastrophic fire, though it is not subjected to frequent strong winds and has no recent history of fires.
Our neighborhood association circulated a letter concerning recent problems finding insurance. Houses in the area have been refused coverage by Farmers, Progressive, and Kempler (which dropped a 20 year old policy). People have found insurance with Geico, Travelers, State Farm, and Allstate, which did a drone assessment and required landscape mitigation.
No one has mentioned a drastic increase in rates, though that would seem to be the logical next step.
It will be interesting to see how this division of Geico performs. I would suspect there is an opportunity for lower regulation, higher fees, and better compliance on preventative measures.