The number of people forced to buy homeowners’ insurance through state-chartered plans has doubled in several disaster-prone states over the past five years, according to a report released Tuesday.
The report by A.M. Best, an insurance-ratings company, reflects the increasing unwillingness of private insurance companies to cover properties that are vulnerable to extreme winds and wildfires. As insurers cancel and decline to write policies in vulnerable areas, homeowners are forced to buy coverage from programs created by the state that sell insurance to people who cannot buy it elsewhere.
A.M. Best found that in California, Florida and Louisiana, the combined number of people buying coverage from so-called “insurers of last resort” soared to 1.7 million in 2023 from 500,000 in 2018.
Insurance companies will likely further retreat from writing policies in Southeastern states, including Florida, after the recent damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the report says.
