Amica OK to Hike Home Insurance Rates by 21% in California

Amica’s increases will affect nearly 40,000 home, renters, and condo insurance policyholders.

Evelyn Pimplaskar
Evelyn PimplaskarEditor-in-Chief, Director of Content
  • 10+ years in insurance and personal finance content

  • 30+ years in media, PR, and content creation

Evelyn leads Insurify’s content team. She’s passionate about creating empowering content to help people transform their financial lives and make sound insurance-buying decisions.

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Chris Schafer
Edited byChris Schafer
Chris Schafer
Chris SchaferSenior Editor
  • 15+ years in content creation

  • 7+ years in business and financial services content

Chris is a seasoned writer/editor with past experience across myriad industries, including insurance, SAS, finance, Medicare, logistics, marketing/advertising, and many more.

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John Leach
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John LeachSenior Insurance Copy Editor
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  • 8+ years editing experience

John leads Insurify’s copy desk, helping ensure the accuracy and readability of Insurify’s content. He’s a licensed agent specializing in home and car insurance topics.

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Published December 8, 2024 at 4:00 PM PST | Reading time: 2 minutes

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California homeowners, renters, and condo owners with property insurance through Amica could soon see their premiums rise again. On Dec. 2, the state’s department of insurance approved Amica’s request to raise rates for nearly 40,000 policyholders.

Homeowners will see increases of around 21%. Rates will rise 4.5% for condo owners with an Amica policy and 1% for renters, according to the insurer’s filing with the California Department of Insurance.

The increases take effect for new policies initiated after Aug. 1 and for policies renewing Sept. 1 or later.

In June, state regulators approved a previous request by Amica to increase home insurance policies by 31.1%, renters insurance by 15.4%, and condo insurance by 14.3%.

Homeowners face the biggest increases

Under the approved rate change request, Amica customers with standard HO-3 homeowners insurance policies will face increases of 15% or more in their annual premiums. The majority — 14,393 policyholders — will see hikes between 15% and 20%. Another 9,255 will pay an additional 20% to 35% when their Amica policies renew.

Homeowners in Running Springs, Pescadero, and Carmel Valley will see the largest average increases, with annual premiums rising $3,670, $3,040, and $2,861, respectively. Some Alamo and Healdsburg homeowners could see increases of more than $12,000 annually.

Condo owners in Encino and Los Angeles face the largest average increases in their Amica policies, at $173 and $162 annually.

Amica is among the smallest home insurers by market share in California, accounting for less than 1% of the overall market. In 2023, the insurer saw a loss ratio of nearly 95%, according to California Department of Insurance data. A loss ratio compares how much an insurer pays out in claims and other expenses to the amount of premiums it collects. The higher an insurer’s loss ratio, the less profitable it is.

What’s next: Property insurance rates will continue to rise in California

The average annual cost of homeowners insurance in California is $1,782, according to an Insurify report. Insurify data analysts predict an 8% increase in home insurance costs in the Golden State throughout 2024, bringing the projected annual rate to $1,921.

California’s exposure to wildfires, severe weather, and earthquake risks, and strict regulation of the insurance industry, has prompted multiple insurers to restrict new business in the state or exit its market altogether. Many insurers that have stayed in California have requested — and received — double-digit rate increases or permission to non-renew higher-risk policies.

Recent developments in the state’s homeowners insurance market include:

Evelyn Pimplaskar
Evelyn PimplaskarEditor-in-Chief, Director of Content

Evelyn Pimplaskar is Insurify’s director of content. With 30-plus years in content creation – including 10 years specializing in personal finance – Evelyn’s done everything from covering volatile local elections as a beat reporter to building fintech content libraries from the ground up.

Before joining Insurify, she was editor-in-chief at Credible, where she launched and developed the lending marketplace’s media partnership’s content initiative and managed the restructuring of the editorial team to enhance content production efficiency. Formerly, as tax editor for Credit Karma, Evelyn built a library of more than 300 educational articles on federal and state taxes, achieving triple-digit year-over-year growth in e-files from organic search.

Her early career included work as a content marketer, vice president and managing officer of a boutique public relations agency, chief copy editor for 14 weekly Forbes publications, reporting for large and mid-sized daily newspapers, and freelancing for the Associated Press.

Evelyn is passionate about creating personal finance content that distills complex topics into relatable, easy-to-understand stories. She believes great content helps empower readers with the information they need to make important personal finance decisions.

Chris Schafer
Edited byChris SchaferSenior Editor
Chris Schafer
Chris SchaferSenior Editor
  • 15+ years in content creation

  • 7+ years in business and financial services content

Chris is a seasoned writer/editor with past experience across myriad industries, including insurance, SAS, finance, Medicare, logistics, marketing/advertising, and many more.

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John Leach
Reviewed byJohn LeachSenior Insurance Copy Editor
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John LeachSenior Insurance Copy Editor
  • Licensed property and casualty insurance agent

  • 8+ years editing experience

John leads Insurify’s copy desk, helping ensure the accuracy and readability of Insurify’s content. He’s a licensed agent specializing in home and car insurance topics.

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