Checking in with Dave Jones on California's Insurance Outlook

During an on-stage conversation between insurance industry leaders at the 2023 10X Los Angeles Summit, former California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones described the need to mitigate the impacts of climate-driven weather in order for the state to remain insurable. His point has been clearly illustrated by news headlines the last couple years since the summit.    

Among the greatest risks to homes in California is the surging frequency and intensity of wildfire. Based on recent trends, the cost of recovery from these disasters is continually outpacing the viability of the insurance business. Fifteen of the 20 largest wildfires in California history have occurred since 2000, and the state’s record for annual disaster costs has been broken three times over in the last seven years.  
 
Earlier this year, the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires blazed for weeks on the outskirts of Los Angeles and together became the single costliest fire event in state history. Insurer losses are estimated between $28 to $52 billion—but the actual total economic loss is estimated to be around five to nine times that amount.    

The record-breaking cost of extreme weather in recent decades has also had regulators in Louisiana and Florida searching for solutions to insurance industry pullbacks in their states—while the country at large watches closely for answers as disaster risks everywhere visibly increase. In this episode, Dave Jones reflects on recent regulatory changes to try to lure major underwriters back into the California market and the potential courses of action for regulators and the industry as climate-driven losses trend upward each year.  

Related articles and resources:   

Watch Dave’s discussion with insurance executives at our 2023 summit in Los Angeles  

“Climate change increased the likelihood of wildfire disaster in highly exposed Los Angeles area” (worldweatherattribution.org, Jan. 2025)  

“Powell predicts a time when mortgages will be impossible to get in parts of US” (Yahoo Finance, Feb. 2025)  

“California’s 2018 wildfires caused $150 billion in damages: study” (Phys.org, Dec. 2020)  

Related podcasts:  “10X Insurance Series: California Attempts to Reverse Insurer Exodus” (Ten Across Conversations, Oct. 2023)