Californians brace for potential 35% car insurance hike as companies leave the state

FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — A hefty price hike could be in your future when your car insurance renews.

FOX26 News investigates why rates are rising and why many insurance companies aren't interested in writing policies in California.

Finding insurance in California used to be simple. Not anymore. "We went from 15 auto insurers to two. We have two now," Spott said.

Patty Spott is president of NSE Insurance in Exeter.

"One of the trade journals yesterday said anticipate a 35% rate increase across the board if the requests are approved by the Department of Insurance," Spott said.

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Jeremy McMurtry bought a truck in December. He was shocked when the insurance bill arrived.

"I got the bill this month, my policy is due in February so I got the bill for February this month and it doubled," McMurtry said.

It went from $1200 for six months to $2400.

Here's why insurance companies aren't fond of California. In 1988 voters passed Proposition 103. It was designed to make insurance fair, available, and affordable.

Patty Spott says all rate increases have to be approved by the California Department of Insurance. A rate request above 6.9% requires a public hearing.

Now insurance companies are looking for greener pastures beyond California.

"Even the ones that haven't pulled out of California, most of them have a moratorium on so they're just saying we're gonna hold back on writing anything new to see if we can hold some of our costs down," Spott said.

Jeremy McMurtry shopped around after getting his bill and discovered other companies were more pricey.

"I'm gonna have to use my vacation money to pay for my car insurance so no vacation this year," McMurtry said.

Patty Spott says if it's any consolation, car insurance prices are higher in Florida.