California regulation requires insurance companies to offer coverage in high-risk areas

California insurers will be required to sell coverage in wildfire-prone regions that have seen an insurer exodus in recent years, state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Monday.

Under the new regulations, companies must make their services available in high-risk areas to do business in the state, the first such requirement in California history. Insurers must write policies covering at least 85 percent of their statewide market share in those vulnerable regions, increasing such coverage by 5 percent increments every two years until they reach that threshold, Lara said.