California

AB 226, still subject to governor's approval, allows likely $1 billion of borrowing to cope with strains on the state's insurer of last resort.

The home insurer's objections to an in-person public hearing with regulators are dismissed by a California administrative judge, along with efforts to separate and postpone wildfire claim handling complaints from the rate hearings.

Insurance industry advisors and groups say the INSURE Act proposal for a catastrophic reinsurance program won't solve rising prices and coverage crisis.

The state forecasts eroding coastlines will endanger $18 billion of existing homes and commercial buildings in the coming decades.

Even before January's fires in Los Angeles, change-of-address data shows residential moves based on fire risks and insurance availability.

The state's regulator said the insurer must show it will cover more homeowners, and be more transparent. Consumer advocates want more concessions, saying the insurance crisis can't be solved on the backs of homeowners.

Recent wildfire updates include the Federal Housing Authority's waiving of quality-control reviews and the upheaval of the state's commercial real estate space.

Insurers had already doled out more than $12 billion to pay for wildfire damages as of early March, according to California state officials.

The measure applies to mortgages closed in the months prior to the Southern California wildfires, which are now experiencing early-stage distress.

Offices, apartment buildings and retail locations in Los Angeles face a tangle of difficulties as the smoke clears from January's wildfires. High on the list is inadequate insurance, a common problem in California.