State insurance officials estimate up to 85% of those homeowners were underinsured. It's a problem elsewhere in the U.S. too.
"People who have been able to get insurance are now not. State Farm and others are pulling out in markets like California where they're just refusing to renew policies, because they're deeming them too risky," said Angle. The cost to insurance companies has skyrocketed over the years. Insurance agencies get their own insurance coverage, called reinsurance, to cover the risk of catastrophes. Those reinsurance rates have risen dramatically, too.
It's not as easy as just charging more. Most states require insurance companies to apply for permission in order to increase rates. In states prone to disaster, some companies are pulling out altogether if it's too hard to raise rates to meet their bottom line.In California, the number of homeowners told their policy wouldn't be renewed jumped by 42% between 2018 and 2019.
"Most people without insurance are low-income families or retired families on fixed incomes. They have minimum means to spend on rebuilding or repairing the property where they live," said Friedlander.