Devastating wildfires have become more and more common in recent years in California, and more homeowners risk losing not only their property but also their insurance coverage.
Several state agencies are attempting to help homeowners get the information they need about how to protect their homes and stay covered by insurance.
KCBS Radio talked with Michael Soller, Deputy Commissioner for Communications at the Department of Insurance and Spokesman for Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara about home hardening, on the process of preparing a home to withstand potential ignition.
"Replacing exterior vents with ember-resistant mesh vents so that embers can’t get into your house and start a fire from the inside," suggested Soller. "Even thinking about vegetation that’s within five feet of your house, moving that back so you don’t have contact points."
However, there is no uniform statewide standard for making these improvements, and the Department of Insurance, CAL FIRE, the governor’s office and the California Public Utilities Commission want to change that.
"You shouldn’t have to guess what’s gonna help you, you should be able to go one place and see: 'These are the things that I need to do and if I do them I’m going to be safer or my home’s going to be safer,'" said Soller.
Soller emphasized that the goal is to help people keep their homes and their homeowners insurance, since thousands of Californians in high-risk areas have been dropped by their insurance companies in recent years.
When homeowners are sent a non-renewal notice by their existing insurer, they then have to find a new provider. This, more often than not, ends up being the California FAIR Plan, a self-proclaimed "insurer of last resort," for those who have tried “diligently” to find another insurer.
California FAIR Plan prices also tend to be higher than other insurance providers.
Soller noted there is money in Gov. Newsom’s budget for home hardening.
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