Allstate, Like State Farm, Stops Issuing New Home, Business Insurance in California

Allstate Insurance quietly stopped selling new homeowner and business insurance in the State of California last year, a new report confirms, suggesting the decision of State Farm to do so this week was not an isolated one.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Allstate has stopped writing new homeowner, condominium and commercial insurance policies in California, the company confirmed to The Chronicle.

The insurer, the fourth largest property and casualty insurance provider in the state in 2021, paused new policies “so we can continue to protect current customers,” spokesperson Brittany Nash wrote in an email to the Chronicle.

The pause began last year but appeared to receive only a passing mention in industry publications. The Chronicle learned of the development this week, after reviewing an Allstate rate increase request to the California Department of Insurance.

Allstate did not explain why it decided to stop selling insurance to new customers. But State Farm decided to do so because of the increased risk of wildfires and the rising costs of construction in the state — and because the state’s regulators will not allow it to price new policies based on future anticipated risk, only on historical risk.