Hello again, my friends. Welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us on the conversation. I’m Ryan Campbell. I’m here joined by my friend Justin Myers. Justin, you’re the owner of Caldwell Insurance in Tuolumne County, and we had a lengthy discussion at the Board of Supervisors meeting last week about the state of fire insurance in Tuolumne County and what’s going on here. And you agreed to come and talk a little more in-depth about it, and I really appreciate it. Welcome.

Thanks, Ryan. Glad to be here and, hopefully, today we’ll be able to answer some of your questions and shed some more insight into this challenging and crazy market that we’re all trying to navigate.

It is a crazy market. Can you explain what is crazy about it? What is going on? Why is it so difficult for people to keep and maintain and acquire insurance, just kind of for somebody that’s not familiar? How would you describe the homeowner’s insurance situation in Tuolumne County?

We’re at that point where we’re at an insurance crisis here in Tuolumne County, locally. The states starting to feel it. That’s more of a recent trend that’s happened. Prior to the Rim fire in California having these historical large fires. The property insurance rate, the rates that we were paying in Tuolumne County here locally, if you’re living in the same protection class in Tuolumne County as, let’s say, the city of Modesto, the rates were the exact same. Since that time, that’s changed.

Okay. And that’s because we’re perceived to have a lot more risk. It’s not that there has been a destructive fire in Tuolumne County that’s destroyed many homes. It’s that there’s a possibility of it. Is that what the insurance industry is looking at?

100%. Right. An insurance company, it’s based on actuarial and risk.

We’d be happy to review your insurance coverage options with you! Give us a call at (209) 532-5102 or visit https://caldwell-insurance.com.