Candidate comment: California should make insurers cover homes if they insure cars or other items

With the first anniversary of the devastating Southern California wildfires approaching, CalMatters asked candidates for the 2026 state Insurance Commissioner race to share thoughts on what the state can do to help victims and stabilize insurers. This is the fifth response. Read the other candidate responses here, here, here and here.

California’s insurance system is not working for regular people. Homeowners are losing coverage, premiums keep rising and the state’s safety net is under strain.

This did not happen overnight. It is the outcome of years of weak oversight and a government that has been too willing to look the other way. 

The first problem is accountability. Insurers are allowed to pick and choose how they participate in California’s market. They sell auto insurance and other profitable products, then walk away from homeowners insurance when risk increases. 

That is not a balanced system. If companies want to do business in California, they should share responsibility for essential coverage that protects people’s homes. 

One reform worth pursuing is tying homeowners insurance participation to broader market access. If an insurer operates in a region and sells other lines of insurance, it should also be required to offer homeowners coverage there, subject to reasonable standards. Allowing companies to profit from California while abandoning homeowners pushes risk onto families and onto the state. 

Stronger enforcement around cancellations and nonrenewals is also critical. Entire neighborhoods are being dropped with little explanation and little notice. Families who have paid premiums for years are left scrambling through no fault of their own. 

That is not market forces at work. It is regulatory failure. Insurers should be required to explain large-scale withdrawals, and homeowners who invest in mitigation and fire hardening should see those efforts count. 

The second problem is cost. Californians are paying more and getting less. Premiums are rising, deductibles are higher and coverage keeps shrinking. Too often, these increases are approved without explanations that consumers can understand. 

That is why California needs an Insurance Payers Bill of Rights. Homeowners deserve enforceable protections. They should know why rates are going up, what they are paying for and what policy changes are being made. They should receive meaningful notice before cancellations or reductions in coverage, along with a real appeals process.

Insurance should not be a black box.

Price increases do not always appear as higher premiums. Insurers shift costs through exclusions, higher deductibles and fine print that quietly reduces protection. Those changes deserve the same scrutiny as formal rate hikes. If insurers cannot justify them clearly and in plain language, they should not be approved. 

Competition matters too. A market with fewer insurers and fewer choices puts consumers at a disadvantage. California should encourage responsible new entrants and create a predictable regulatory environment. Competition alone is not enough, but paired with strong oversight and consumer rights, it helps keep prices in check. 

We also need to be honest about the California FAIR Plan. FAIR was never meant to be the primary insurer for large parts of the state. Today, it faces exposure in the tens of billions of dollars. There is no realistic way to stabilize FAIR while it continues absorbing risk the private market is allowed to shed. 

If FAIR runs into serious trouble, the state will pay one way or another. That means homeowners and taxpayers. FAIR can only function as intended if the private market is restored and insurers are held accountable. 

This crisis will not be solved by putting another insurance insider in charge. Californians need an Insurance Commissioner who understands what it is like to be on the receiving end of a cancellation notice or a massive premium increase. The job is to stand up for consumers and restore a system that works for the people it was meant to serve.

The candidate guest commentaries are being published in the order in which they were received.