One of California's largest home insurance providers is requesting to hike its rates by over 30% this year.
Allstate, which represents 5.5% of the overall market in California, is requesting to rate its home insurance rates by about 34.1% this year. This marks what could be the largest rate increase by a major insurer in California since 2021, when Homesite Insurance Company was approved to raise insurance rates by 38.2%.
If state regulators approve the request, it could affect more than 350,000 policyholders. Allstate first submitted its request in April 2023, per the San Francisco Chronicle, which viewed the filing from the insurer.
How Much Would Insurance Rates Increase?
Allstate's proposed hike is an average. In the filing, Allstate noted that premium changes could also vary from house to house, adding that some customers could see their rates increase by as much as 647% while others could see their rates go down by 57%.
"Our payments to help California residents recover from accidents and disasters have increased significantly in recent years due to higher repair costs, more frequent and severe weather and legal system abuse," an Allstate spokesperson said in a statement, as quoted by the publication.
That being said, the actual increase would change depending on the decision from the California Department of Insurance, which reviews company data on past costs and claims to determine how much they could increase their rates.
The department has approved several of Allstate's hike requests over the past five years, including 4% in 2023, 6.9% in 2021, and 6.9% in 2019 for home insurance, as well as a 40% increase for condominium insurance in 2022.
Other Insurers Who Recently Increased Their Rates
Allstate is not the first insurer to have requested double-digit rate increases in recent years. State Farm General, a subsidiary of insurer State Farm, requested to increase its renters' policies by 52%, its homeowners' insurance policies by 30%, and its condo policies by 36%.
That request came after State Farm was approved a 20% insurance rate increase for condo owners' and homeowners' policies in December 2023.
Travelers Insurance and Safeco also raised their home insurance rates by 15.3% and 10.5%, respectively.
