By Michele Allyn
2024 President
Santa Barbara Association of Realtors
2024 has been a pivotal year in our insurance market. Insurance companies, big and small, have left the
State, won’t renew current policies, or have just stopped accepting new homeowner insurance policies.
Here in Santa Barbara County, we have been hit especially hard given that large swaths of our County
are designated as high or very high fire zones. With so much bad news swirling around about the dire
insurance situation, what can a homeowner or business owner do?
Throughout 2024, California Department of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has been attempting
to ease the insurance crisis. He has been negotiating a “historical deal” which will allow insurance
companies to use new tech tools to set rates, but only if those companies insure more homes in wildfire
areas. Will this “historic deal” help the Santa Barbara region?
It’s tough to know. Currently, the way insurance companies determine risk is using historic data analysis,
in other words they use past events and claims to provide insights into the frequency and severity of
risks. If this new deal becomes a reality, insurance companies will use catastrophe models to assess the
risk exposures in a portfolio. This means that insurance companies will use models to estimate future
catastrophic events when assessing your property.
What I’ve explained above is just a snapshot of the “historic deal”, but I think it’s better if you hear it
directly from the Department of Insurance office to understand new policy requirements, get expert
information, and have your concerns addressed.
I want to personally invite you to “Let’s Talk Insurance: Community Town Hall Meeting” on Wednesday,
November 13 th starting at 5:30pm. You can register for this FREE event at www.sbaor.org.
Michele Allyn is the owner and manager of Allyn & Associates Real Estate and Lending, a real estate brokerage and mortgage company, serving Santa Barbara, California’s Central Coast, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego and Greater Los Angeles County. Michele has been a member of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors since 1973, and currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors. Reach Michele at 805-895-5101 or micheleallyn@yahoo.com.