If individuals in California can’t find coverage, they may choose to sign onto the FAIR Plan, often referred to as the “last resort plan.” This system is not run by the government or taxpayer-funded, but rather a statutorily mandated, involuntary association of private property and casualty insurers, which pool together a fund that is used to help pay out claims. Overseen by the California Department of Insurance, the FAIR Plan mechanism is required to write insurance for those who cannot secure private insurance, but that doesn’t mean it’s free. Premiums under this plan are often high to reflect risk, and some homeowners may decide to go without any insurance at all.
This sounds like a capitalist alternative to single-payer, so worse. Less benefits, higher costs, people can’t afford it so do without.
Jeez, just at least give us a mixed economy, if robber barons can’t abide by socialist economy.
Basically, as I understand it, FAIR is forcing insurance companies to write policies which will cost on average more than the premiums they’re allowed to charge. It is why some companies are abandoning California completely, making the problems worse. The government of California is too impractical to be able to realize how they are causing the problem, let alone figure out a better solution, and are instead complaining that the insurance industry is being unfair by refusing to do this.
I particularly like the phrase “involuntary association of insurers.” He’s not a prisoner, sir, he’s just an involuntary resident.
It doesn’t really matter whether you are capitalist or not. Trying to pour five gallons out of a two-gallon jug, under whatever system, is always going to leave someone disappointed.
Thank you for this explanation. I was a bit distracted reading the article and got the sense it was similar to our ”best” alternative to single-payer health, which got us Obamacare (I know he wanted better but still).
Yeah, they’re sort of opposites. Obamacare was a compromise, the “best” available within our horrifying system, which let the insurance companies still deny people care and make money like a silk merchant in the whorehouse district, but stopping them from coming by and beating the sick with batons for sport which they were previously allowed to do. FAIR is sort of letting the homeowners do that to the insurance companies for a change. Not the worst thing in the world, but unlike the sick, the insurance companies don’t have to put up with it.
I got four quotes for fire insurance on my N. California house and the FAIR plan was the least expensive. I keep seeing it described as “last resort” and “most expensive,” but thus far at least, that wasn’t my experience. Not sure why.
EDIT: typo
Yes, because they are forcing the insurance companies to write you FAIR policies for less than the policy costs them. You better snag that policy for as long as you can lock it in for, because something is going to give at some point and it’ll stop being that way, one way or another.
Yeah, all the policies were only 12 months at a time. Now I’m hearing chatter about “special assessments” on plan holders, but I don’t know how much stock to put in those speculations. For now I’m just riding things out and seeing what happens since there’s basically nothing else I can do anyway.
That’s great! I’m glad it’s there for you.