California wildfire claims filed with State Farm average $207,000 apiece, the company says. That figures accounts for 65% of State Farm’s total wildfire claims across the country. As the state's largest insurer, State Farm unsurprisingly accounts for the highest incurred losses by a single company in the state, with over $4 billion spent in paying claims in 2021 alone. The last five years have brought some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires ever recorded in California. Hawaii Alaska Florida South Carolina Georgia Alabama North Carolina Tennessee RI Rhode Island CT Connecticut MA Massachusetts Maine NH New Hampshire VT Vermont New York NJ New Jersey DE Delaware MD Maryland West Virginia Ohio Michigan Arizona Nevada Utah Colorado New Mexico South Dakota Iowa Indiana Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin Missouri Louisiana Virginia DC Washington DC Idaho California North Dakota Washington Oregon Montana Wyoming Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Pennsylvania Kentucky Mississippi Arkansas Texas View Rates The costs of California wildfires With June marking the start of both the wildfire and hurricane seasons, here's more about climate and insurance, including where homeowners can turn if climate change is reducing the number of familiar names in insurance where they live. Claims worth over $40 billion from hurricanes Ida, Laura, Delta and Zeta have caused companies to drop tens of thousands of policies in both states.

Louisiana and Florida are suffering similar turmoil due to the devastating impact of hurricanes. State Farm's move follows decisions to stop writing new California home insurance by fellow insurance companies American International Group and Liberty Mutual.Ī changing climate has been complicating insurance well beyond California. An estimated 4.5 million houses in the state are at high risk of wildfire, and climate scientists expect California’s wildfires to grow even more severe and frequent due to climate change. Insurance companies have become increasingly wary of issuing policies in California in the last several years, due mostly to dire climate predictions. State Farm continues to offer new car insurance coverage in California. However, there’s no word on how high premiums might become upon renewal.

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) says current State Farm policyholders will not lose their existing policies.

State Farm says that, effective May 27, it's no longer accepting new applications for homeowners insurance in California, due to a rise in 'catastrophe exposure' caused by fires, along with an increased cost to rebuild homes in the state. The move is the most dramatic example yet of how climate change is reducing the insurance choices for Americans who live in areas deemed to be “high risk” by insurers. The wildfire season is just beginning in the West, and already the biggest insurer in the most populous state has pulled out of writing new property insurance because of the growing financial risk posed by fires.

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