Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer accused State Farm of “jeopardizing people’s lives” by canceling homeowners insurance policies and spearheaded a county resolution Tuesday in opposition.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve her resolution opposing actions by State Farm and other large insurance companies to “abandon homeowners, renters, and small business owners.”
“Severing ties with homeowners and renters in San Diego County is not very neighborly of State Farm, or any other insurance provider,” said Lawson-Remer. “The state is working in good faith to address insurance provider concerns, but instead of being a good neighbor, they are jeopardizing people’s lives and belongings to prove a point.”
On March 20, the Illinois-based insurance company announced that it would be dropping coverage for existing policyholders, leaving 72,000 local homeowners and rental property owners scrambling to find alternatives.
Lawson-Remer accused State Farm of punishing local homeowners “in order to leverage their negotiations with the state of California, as the state works to modernize regulations by the end of this year.”
She detailed her concerns at a press conference on Monday before introducing the resolution at Tuesday’s regular board meeting.
“I’ve heard from realtors, homeowners, builders and renters about these insurance companies,” said Lawson-Remer. “Our ability locally to affect change on this issue is limited, but I want San Diegans to know that we are standing up to corporate bullies, and will be doing anything we can to support the state with its regulations.”
Insurance companies have raised concerns that the California insurance marketplace is broken because of wildfire and climate risks, high inflation and construction costs. Earlier this year, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara started working on revised regulations, and expects them to be completed by the end of 2024.
Updated at 3:05 p.m., Tuesday, May 21, 2024