Another Home Insurer Pulls Back on Some California Policies

An apartment building in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco. Courtesy of Rent.com

Another residential insurance company has decided to scale back its California offerings by halting new policies for condos, rentals, and boats starting next year.

SafeCo, a subsidiary of Boston-based Liberty Mutual, has decided to discontinue writing new insurance plans for smaller products in California over the next two years, the company confirmed Dec. 20.

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, SafeCo will stop writing new policies for condos, renters, and watercraft.

The insurer will also discontinue some specific home products written by a few of their many underwriting companies, and will continue to write home insurance in California, according to a company representative.

“During this time of increasing risk and volatility, we are building a sustainable business path forward in California by simplifying our product offerings and investing in the areas where we can win in the long term,” a spokesman for the company told The Epoch Times.

The change includes focusing SafeCo’s California business on core auto, home, landlord, and umbrella products, while reducing the company’s overall offerings, according to the spokesman.

“With this new strategy comes the difficult decision to discontinue several of our smaller lines of business and products in California over the next two years,” the spokesman said. “Many of these lines have underperformed over the past decade.”

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, SafeCo will also stop writing new policies for specialty vehicles, motorcycles, and standard vehicles, the company confirmed.

In addition, the company will stop renewing old policies for the smaller products, including condos, rentals, boats, motorcycles, and standard vehicles in 2026.

“We are committed to the California insurance market and believe our actions will provide a more sustainable path forward and fulfill our commitment to our agency partners and customers,” the spokesman said.

Californians have been hit hard in the past few years by sharp increases in home and auto insurance.

Some residents have lost policies altogether as companies continue to withdraw service from the state, citing higher fire risk and California’s cumbersome insurance regulations.

The marina in Wilmington, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2021. SafeCo will stop writing new insurance policies in California for condos, rentals, and watercraft starting Jan. 1, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

In 2023, the California Department of Insurance hoped to bring insurers back to the state after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requesting the insurance commission address the crisis.

Farmer’s Insurance announced it would resume writing policies in the state on Dec. 14, providing a bright spot in an otherwise difficult insurance market, after it stopped writing new ones in May 2023.

Californians can now purchase policies for condos and rentals from the company. Manufactured homes policies will be offered by the company starting March 1, 2025.