SAN DIEGO — Walt Mooromsky is one of 240 condo owners in the Canyon Park Villas in Mira Mesa, who recently had their property insurance not renewed by Farmers Insurance due to wildfire risk.
The condos sit on a canyon ridge, but Mooromsky said the City of San Diego owns the canyon behind their homes.
“We've done some brush mitigation. We don't own very much, basically, at the fence line is the end of our property. We're not allowed to mitigate beyond that,” said Mooromsky.
Because the condos are connected, they require a master, $50 million property insurance policy to cover the entire complex.
The HOA had to go to the secondary insurance market and cobble together replacement insurance, resulting in a $2,500 special assessment on all 240 condo owners, just for this year.
“$2,500, it's not a drop in the bucket. So. There's a little bit of a shock,” said Mooromsky. “The best thing they could do for us was, well, if you can't pay it all at once, we'll set up a payment program for you with a 4% interest rate.”
The Mira Mesa condos are one of three local complexes recently cancelled by Farmers, including 320 condos in Tierrasanta and 338 units in in Rancho Bernardo.
CBS 8 has been working to find a solution. Now, state legislators are responding with a letter to the CA Insurance Commissioner.
Eighteen state senators signed on to the letter, dated February 6, 2023, requesting that the Commissioner immediately raise the maximum amount of coverage allowed under the state's safety-net insurance plan (called the FAIR Plan) “from the current level of $8.4 million to at least $20 million.”
For condo owners in San Diego, those long-term solutions can't come soon enough.
“This can feed homelessness. I mean, there are people who are just making it by owning a condominium. And, if you're going to hike the dues up that much, they can't handle that,” said Mooromsky, the condo owner in Mira Mesa.
Farmers Insurance did not respond to CBS 8’s request for comment.
Toni Atkins, California’s Senate President Pro Tem, emailed the following statement to CBS 8:
“Climate change is taking a toll on our state and now, with the risks to life and property more intense than ever, it’s also impacting California’s insurance market, including here in San Diego. With homeowners struggling to find and maintain home insurance – especially residents of condominiums and HOAs in high fire-risk areas throughout the state – my Senate colleagues and I are urging Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to use his existing authority to increase coverage limits under the California FAIR Plan as an interim fix to help residents, while we also work on identifying longer-term solutions. A healthy insurance marketplace is essential to protecting our homes and not exacerbating our state’s housing crisis – we will continue to explore every option available.”
The office of the State Insurance Commissioner emailed CBS 8 the following statement:
"Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appreciates the Legislature’s support of his continued efforts to modernize the FAIR Plan to meet new challenges. The Commissioner has a long history of taking actions to ensure California consumers have greater access to insurance. In November 2021, the Commissioner ordered the FAIR Plan to implement his mandated increases to its decades-old commercial property coverage limits offered to businesses, which increased the combined coverage limits for the FAIR Plan, under its Division I Commercial Property Program, from $4.5 million to $8.4 million and, under its Division II Businessowners Program, from $3.6 million to $7.2 million.
Insurance is about safety and, hearing from homeowners and businesses, we are creating lasting solutions to protect Californians from climate change. Expanded coverage options for HOAs and community associations including a stronger FAIR Plan is a top priority for my new term. Thank you @SenToniAtkins and @CASenateDems for your continued support. We have to hold insurance companies accountable to covering Californians. We want them to be part of the solution, not the problem, and work with us to protect homeowners and businesses.”
WATCH RELATED: Farmers cancel insurance for 338 homes in Rancho Bernardo (Feb. 2023).