San Francisco Chronicle | November 11, 2023
California’s insurance market is a ticking time bomb. All of us are at risk of being caught in the blast
Wednesday marked five years since the devastating Camp Fire ripped through the Butte County town of Paradise, killing 85 people, destroying 11,000 homes and spurring an exodus of two-thirds of the population.
Although California’s fire season was relatively calm this year due to a historically wet winter, the lingering impact of Paradise — along with skyrocketing inflation and the looming prospect of more wildfires fueled by climate change and poor forest management — have created a different kind of disaster: the soaring cost — and dwindling availability — of home insurance.