When I sold our place in Auburn and bought my current home in Mountain Ranch (in Calaveras County, within the burn scar of the 2015 Butte Fire), I knew I’d be stuck with FAIR Plan insurance, but I wasn’t ready for the initial quote. My new house, which survived the Butte Fire, was bigger than I needed, but I loved the land around it. I didn’t love the quote - my agent informed me that I’d need to cough up more than $8,000 per year to insure my home against fire - and that I’d need a separate liability policy for other potential hazards. Since I was fortunate enough to be paying cash, I was able to negotiate a lower rate (basically by saying if the house burned, I’d rebuild a much smaller dwelling). Even so, my annual premium - just for fire insurance - was nearly $4,000. I have since learned that some of my new neighbors were able to retain their private insurance. Regardless, I can’t even get a quote from a private insurer.
This year, the premium rose to over $4,000. My insurance agent (who is sympathetic), helped me verify the things I’d done to keep my home fire resistant. My “Zone 0” (within 5 feet of my home) is free of flammable material. I’ve pruned up trees and cut weeds within Zone 1 (5-30 feet). And beyond 30 feet (Zone 2), I’ve grazed my property with sheep, goats, and mules to a level that is scientifically proven to slow - or even stop - fire. But much like the phone company in the old Lily Tomlin skit on Saturday Night Live, FAIR Plan said, “We don’t care. We don’t have to.” I was granted a small discount, but my premium was still over $4,000.
After I’d renewed my policy, I received a notice from my agent (and from the FAIR Plan) that my premium would increase by 29% because of the fires in the Los Angeles area in 2025. I can do basic math (usually) - my annual premium would be more than $5,000. That evening, I contacted my California Assembly representative, David Tangipa, and my California State Senator, Marie Alvarado-Gill, about the issue. It’s been more than two months (in an election year), and I’ve yet to hear from either of them.
Tonight, I received three separate notices from the FAIR Plan. I think these are about a tree next to my garage. I think (maybe?) that my premium will increase by more than $700 due to this tree. Or that maybe they won’t cover my detached garage. But typically of every communication I’ve received from the FAIR Plan in the last 3 years, I’m not entirely sure. The FAIR Plan belongs in the Hall of Fame of Government Opaqueness.
When Sami was sick and we were struggling to get our insurance company to respond to our request for alternative treatment, I found that tagging Anthem Blue Cross in my social media posts got the company’s attention. The FAIR Plan is a quasi-government entity (I think - even this isn’t clear!). I find that I don’t know how to publicly shame them! One of the letters I received today indicated that there is an appeals process - that I can send a letter to Victoria Roach, President of the California FAIR Plan. But I have no idea who Victoria is accountable to - she’s certainly not accountable to those of us who’ve paid into the FAIR Plan. Equally troubling, neither Mr. Tangipa nor Ms. Alvarado-Gill are apparently accountable to their constituents.
I get that the mega-fires we’ve experienced in California in the last decade-plus have stretched private insurance companies beyond the breaking point. I understand my responsibility as a rural landowner to keep my property safe - and to work with my neighbors to keep my community safe. But I also know that my elected representatives are charged with representing my interests. I’m terribly frustrated that nobody in our state government seems to have the willpower to take on this issue.
And so tonight, I’m once again tempted by my privilege in owning my home outright. Maybe I’ll simply put the $4,000-plus the FAIR Plan requires into my own bank account.
And maybe, if the worst happens, I’ll buy a sheep camp trailer….
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