By David Jerome
Correspondent
This month’s meeting of IDY Elders & Others was focused on the issues surrounding fire insurance for Hill residents. The event was called “The Ins & Outs of Home Fire Insurance,” and the featured speaker was Bob Severns of Severns Insurance Agency in Hemet. Severns has provided coverage for Idyllwilders for many years, and as a FAIRplan broker, still writes policies here.
Severns began by outlining the situation homeowners are in; traditional carriers are not allowed to “non-renew” in high-risk areas, but may increase the rates, and some have seen their premiums double or quadruple. The FAIRplan, set up to be an insurer of last resort, is now the only option for many in areas affected by wildfire.
One change this year is the adoption of ZESTY AI, a model used to determine the wildfire risk of individual properties. ZESTY considers data like slope and wind behavior in addition to the condition of a property to determine a home’s fire risk. This, in turn, determines the premium each homeowner pays.
Because the evaluation of a home fire risk is now highly individual, the insurance companies also must offer discounts when certain risks are eliminated or mitigated by the homeowner. The discounts for “hardening” a structure may, according to Severns, add up to 14%, but they are individually small; “many things that make small differences.”
Severns also clarified that FAIRplan is not a state-run program but rather one the state required private carriers doing business in the state to create. The terms of its mission are determined by court decisions as Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the private carriers sue each other. As an example, the court has upheld a requirement that the FAIRplan offer comprehensive or “wrap around” policies, but this has not been implemented.
At present, homeowners buy a FAIRplan policy that covers fire, lightning, smoke and a few other perils, with add-ons available, but they also must purchase a Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy covering, among other things, falling trees, liability, theft and water damage (but not flooding.) The DIC, in turn, does not cover earthquakes; most Californians have no coverage for that.
As FAIRplan has taken on more policies, the increased workload has slowed the process down, according to Severns. He also noted that the “platform” on which quotes are generated changed on the first of this month. The system is inundated with requests, and waits for quotes are now seven days. So, shop early.
IDY Elders & Others meet at 1 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the Idyllwild Library. Its mission is to figure out ways for elders, and disabled persons, to stay on the Hill, helping them find the resources that are available, and fill the gaps. Meetings cover topics that attendees have asked about; last month it was Medicare.
Other meetings have covered emergency evacuation of pets, Mountain Disaster Preparedness, and grants to help seniors with fuel abatement and Goldspotted Oak Borer trees. This month, one attendee expressed an interest in access to health care on the Hill, so that may arise soon.
