California’s Last-Resort Insurance Plan Sees Record New Policies in February

The plan added 15,000 properties last month, but the director says it has too much exposure and couldn’t handle claims from a natural disaster.

Firefighters try to keep flames from a burning home from spreading to a neighboring apartment complex as they battle the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2018. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California’s last-resort insurer, the FAIR Plan Association, saw a record number of new policies in February as more insurers flee the California market, leaving homeowners with one choice.

The so-called FAIR Plan provides basic coverage when other insurers aren’t available, but premiums are usually much higher. The plan now insures around 373,000 properties, adding 15,000 in February alone—the most ever—with the plan doubling in size since September 2019, officials said during a March 13 Assembly Insurance Committee meeting.