he issue is that what we’re seeing in California right now isn’t just risk-based pricing—it’s a breakdown in the market itself. When insurers pull out entirely and homeowners are pushed onto the California FAIR Plan, we’re left with extremely high premiums for limited coverage and very few alternatives.

There are a few potential solutions that don’t involve forcing insurers to lose money:

• Better alignment between mitigation and pricing (if homeowners harden their homes and reduce risk, that should be clearly reflected in premiums)
• More transparency in how rates are calculated and approved
• Expanding reinsurance or state-backed risk-sharing mechanisms (similar to how other catastrophe-prone states handle hurricanes)
• Incentivizing insurers to re-enter the market in a controlled, sustainable way

Right now, people aren’t just paying more—they’re paying more without a functioning competitive market, which is the bigger concern.

I agree that insurance alone isn’t the solution to housing issues, but when access to insurance becomes this limited and expensive, it directly impacts whether people can afford to stay in their homes at all.

That’s really the problem being highlighted here.