California will require insurers to offer home coverage in wildfire-prone areas

Opponents say rule could hike premiums by 40% and does not require new policies to be written at fast enough pace

Insurance companies that stopped providing home coverage to hundreds of thousands of Californians in recent years as wildfires became more destructive will have to again provide policies in fire-prone areas if they want to keep doing business in the state.

The new state regulation, announced on Monday, will require home insurers to offer coverage in high-risk areas, something the state has never done, the office of the California insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said in a statement.