California To Overhaul Insurance Plan After Wildfires

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California residents who lost their home insurance because of the threat of wildfires could soon buy comprehensive policies from a state-mandated plan funded by the insurance industry.

Private insurance companies have been dropping policies of many people who live in fire-prone areas as wildfires continue to threaten the state.

Most turn to the California FAIR Plan, an insurance pool mandated by state law that is required to issue policies to people who can't buy them through no fault of their own.

But the FAIR Plan policies are limited. On Thursday, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered the plan to begin selling comprehensive policies by June 1. He also ordered the plan to double homeowners' coverage limits to $3 million by April 1.

Lara said the changes reflect the state's "new reality."