Homeowners receiving non-renewal notices from insurance companies

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- ABC30 has been digging into California's insurance crisis over the last couple of months.

We've found many homeowners are struggling to find a policy as about a dozen insurance companies have stopped or restricted coverage in the state.

In 2023, about 1.54% of Fresno County homeowners had insurance policies that were not renewed.

Many homeowners reached out to Action News citing a variety of reasons like overhanging trees that the homeowner says are not there.

Another says she was forced to remove her fireplace and the insurance company considered her kids toys "debris."

"It doesn't seem to be like any real rhyme or reason," Clovis homeowner Kaily MacDougall said.

She got a non-renewal notice in January, stating she needed to remove algae off her roof to get renewed.

"We were thinking 'what the heck' because when we bought the house, the algae was on the front of the roof so they initially insured us with that algae," MacDougall stated.

She spent the next two months being proactive to solve the issue.

"To be dealing with that on top of a work day, on top of kids and sports and regular life stuff, it is a lot," she added.

Kaily says she paid $1000 to remove the algae, and her policy was renewed.

"We haven't had any claims, we don't have any trees near our house, we keep our house pretty clean and free of debris and so to pay this much a year, we had to pay and extra $1000 just to pay that. It seems crazy," she said.

If you get a similar notice, you want to act right away with your insurance agent.

"At the end of 75 days it's gonna non-renew, and it's gonna take, you, you know, at least a month to find another insurance policy," Director of Communications for the Western States for the Insurance Information Institute, Janet Ruiz said.

Many homeowners have received a photo with their non-renewal notice, which they say feels like an invasion of privacy.

But the Insurance Information Institute says that's part of your policy.

"Aerial photos are no different than a person coming and inspecting. It's actually less invasive for you, less time-consuming and less costly," Ruiz stated.

But many are seeing the price of their policy go up.

"The prices of your insurance have to reflect the prices that we're paying to make people whole after they have a claim," Ruiz explained.

The Insurance Information Institute says the state's department of insurance is rolling out a "sustainable insurance strategy" this year.

"It will help insurance companies come back into the market and write more insurance in California," Ruiz said.

A timeline for that strategy has not been released.

If you have questions about your home or renter's insurance, a team of industry experts will be available to answer them until 7 pm on May 7th.

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