Home Insurance Prices Soaring

Local residents could soon be paying a lot more for home insurance.

The state’s Department of Insurance approved a 34% rate increase by Allstate, and State Farm is awaiting approval for a 30% increase.

Allstate is California’s fourth-largest insurer and provides coverage for 350,000 homeowners.

The company told one TV station that higher home values in the state lead to more expensive repair costs.

“This home insurance rate approval allows us to continue protecting our existing customers as we work with the California Department of Insurance to improve coverage availability and create a more viable and sustainable homeowners insurance market for consumers in the state,” the company said. “Higher home values and repair costs coupled with more frequent, severe weather lead to higher payments to help customers recover, so we need to adjust rates to better reflect the cost of protecting our customers.”

The median home price across the state is $904,210, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Locally, many homes sell above the $1 million mark.

That’s more than double the $433,558 median price across the country. Both prices are the highest on record.

Allstate claims it is offering discounts to existing customers who have “taken action to mitigate wildfire risk on their property.”