Why are insurance rates going up in California?

SAN DIEGO — San Diego based insurance broker Kiyoma Yoshizumi says his office has been inundated with phone calls from new clients for weeks. Thousands of San Diego County homeowners are seeing their homeowner’s insurance bill skyrocket.

“We are getting about 2-5 new phone calls a day from new clients, basically saying my premium went up 3-5 times last year can you find me anything better or I am being non-renewed by my current insurance company,” Yoshizumi told CBS 8’s Heather Myers.

CBS 8 has been Working for You on this story. In early January, CBS 8’s Steve Price spoke to viewer Tony Obregon. Obregon contacted us saying his Farmers Insurance bill went from $383 per year for coverage on his 2-bedroom Mission Valley Condo, to now more than $2,100.

“With the cost of everything rising, and then on top of that the insurance premiums doubling, tripling, quadrupling, it’s too much for people,” said Obregon.

Kiyoma Yoshizumi says one of the reasons homeowners are seeing significantly higher rates is their updated wildfire mitigation score. He says insurance companies use a mapping service and give each home a score from .1 to 100. 

.1 means it’s very unlikely a wildfire could burn through the area and every mitigation effort has been taken. A score of 100 means it’s extremely likely a wildfire could destroy the home.

“They’re called fire maps that the insurance companies use. These were recently updated in 2023 and almost every single home out there that has this brush score, went up,” said Yoshizumi.

CBS 8 contacted the California Department of Insurance. The department did not respond to our request for an on-camera interview, but did issue a statement saying in-part:

“While rate changes have been approved under the auspices of proposition 103, Californians continue to pay less, on average, than other states for home and auto insurance.”

The statement went on to mention “first in the nation” mandatory insurance discounts for homeowners who take proactive steps to protect their homes from wildfires. The department’s website mentions this under the “Safer from Wildfires” webpage where there are ten steps listed which include upgrades to your roof, eaves, windows and your defensible space plan, among other items.

What the website doesn’t mention is how to get the discount once these measures are taken.

Yoshizumi says the insurance companies will have to be informed of this plan too.

“I don’t think the discounts have hit the market yet, because these insurance companies are still looking for their premium rate increases and also having to adjust their policies in order to meet these requirements that the department of insurance has put forward,” said Yoshizumi.

Yoshizumi says he has had quite a bit of success shopping the rates for his customers through different insurance companies and has found lower rates. He advises his clients to be wary of insurance companies offering you a discount by reducing your coverage.

At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.

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