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Travelers Insurance will hike its premiums by an average 15.3 percent for hundreds of thousands of homeowners in California.
The change is attributed to wildfire risk and will impact an estimated 320,000 policyholders.
The New York-based firm, which is the sixth largest insurer in California, plans to update rates for homeowners, with some seeing increases of more than 25 percent, according to reporting by the San Jose Mercury News, which cited filings with the state Department of Insurance.
The company has not released where in the state homeowners will see increases, though the policy changes could take effect as early as June 24.
On average, California homeowners currently pay $1,250 a year for coverage, according to Nerdwallet.com.
Traveler’s also plans to drop 6600 policies across the state with the most extreme wildfire risk.
Earlier this year, several major insurers pulled out of the California market, and State Farm, Farmers and Allstate limited their exposure in California by cutting back on the number of new policies issued. State Farm announced in March it would not renew 72,000 new policies.
In a statement to KTLA, a Traveler’s spokesperson said, “The approved adjustments to our California homeowners insurance rates are a necessary step toward aligning pricing to the risks that our customers are facing.”
(source)