From the Los Angeles Daily News via MSN, February 12:
California FAIR Plan gets $1 billion assessment to head off insolvency
California’s insurance commissioner approved a plan Tuesday, Feb. 11, to keep the state’s insurance of last resort solvent by collecting an additional $1 billion from all private insurance members after a record number of claims were filed following January wildfires in Los Angeles County.
In the announcement, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the FAIR Plan can continue paying consumer claims by permitting its member insurance companies to collect an “assessment” from consumers — even those who are not directly affected by the fires. This is likely to drive up insurance costs for homeowners across the state as private insurers try to plug the financial hole in the FAIR Plan with the assessments.
Also see: Why all California homeowners could be on the hook for LA County wildfire costs
The announcement from Lara did not include what that assessment would cost individual property owners, but did note that it will be calculated off the market share of private insurance members.
A spokesman for the California Department of Insurance was not immediately available for comment on how big the assessments might be for private insurance members of the FAIR plan, or the costs passed along to consumers....
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