SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There have been plenty of impactful and devastating wildfires in recent months. There are also plenty of homeowners who are seeing increases and sometimes cancellations on their policies.
"California is a very expensive state, and it puts you in a survival mode,” Marynet Martinez, an Alpine Resident, said.
Cost of living in the Golden State is a constant worry among many people who call it home.
"In 2021, we bought our home in Alpine, California,” Martinez, who moved there from Chula Vista, said.
But, for some like Martinez, the cost hits a little too close to home.
"We received a letter from both the home insurance and the fire insurance that our insurance had doubled for the home insurance and almost doubled for the fire insurance,” Martinez said.
She said that was in July of 2022.
Since then, prices for people in fire-prone areas have continued to climb and that’s if you haven't been dropped.
Then there's the billions of dollars of destruction from the Los Angeles area fires.
"Let me tell you with the recent wildfires, we are going from bad to worse,” Assemblymember Carl DeMaio said.
DeMaio said the state needs to ensure people can get insurance and that they can afford it.
He's got a plan that the Assemblymember said is being called the "Cap and Cut" CA Insurance Rates through Reform Act.
"It would shield homeowners from massive increases by canceling the insurance tax and by providing rate stabilization rebates,” DeMaio said.
According to DeMaio’s Office, the rate stabilization would have an insurance premium rate increase cap at the national average or seven percent, whichever is lower. The bill also calls improve fire management and ask the governor to start talks with the federal government on creating a financing program for reinsurance which is basically insurance for insurance companies.
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"Our cost estimates are the average homeowner saves at least $350 under this plan and as much as $3,000 a year. That's real savings,” DeMaio said.
The bill, AB 567, was introduced on February 12th. So, it still has to go through committees and potentially the full state assembly and senate and be signed by the Governor before any change happens.
For Martinez, she hopes that happens.
"If these rates go down, we'll have a better quality of life because when you have to pay thousands of extra dollars a year on insurance; it changes your quality of life,” Martinez said.
DeMaio told ABC 10News if his bill fails at the state assembly level, he hopes to get it on the next election ballot for the voters to decide.
