A California homeowner said that a change in CSAA's wildfire-risk software was followed by a sharp renewal increase, with their annual homeowners insurance premium rising from about $3,000 to $6,000.
They said the higher bill was even harder to accept because the wildfire assessment appeared to rely on incorrect details about the property.
Here's what to know
In a Reddit post, the homeowner said CSAA tied the increase to a new wildfire model from ZestyAI. They said the home's previous rating was 1 out of 30, while the updated system scored it 9 out of 10.
One issue, they said, involved the terrain listing. The homeowner wrote that the property was marked as sloped, even though the lot is "completely flat," and added that the insurer's own "Property at a Glance" page also showed no slope.
They also disputed the report's concerns about firefighting access, saying a hydrant is across the street and two fire stations are about two miles away. In addition, they said the assessment flagged "high vegetation density between 30–100 ft of the building" without specifying what vegetation or which areas it was referring to.
The homeowner said they disputed the information with CSAA, but the company continued telling them the data was accurate.
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"How am I supposed to address something when they won't tell me specifically what they think is wrong?" they wrote.
More background
The homeowner said they were not denying the broader hazard. In the post, they described "wildfire risk is a real concern" in California and said their rural residential property has mature trees that were professionally cut back.
A commenter focused on the apparent inconsistency, writing, "The slope thing alone is wild if their own page says no slope."
Another commenter suggested defensible-space standards could be part of the problem, writing, "CA recently changed the wildfire specs and insurers can raise rates for not having defensible space. Mature trimmed trees are not defensible space."
What can be done?
The homeowner said they have already challenged the assessment directly with CSAA.
They also asked whether other CSAA or AAA customers, after switching to ZestyAI, have managed to correct inaccurate property details or get the wildfire score recalculated.
They further asked what information California homeowners can request from an insurer and whether filing a Department of Insurance complaint would be worthwhile.
The homeowner said they could not access or fix the data behind the larger bill.
"I'm trying to figure out my options, and honestly, if this is happening to other people too, I think more homeowners should know about it," they said.
Where can I learn more?
Insurance rates are proving to be a headache for homeowners across the United States.
• California homeowners have faced 400% insurance rate hikes as insurers retreat from fire-prone communities.
• State officials are taking unprecedented action in California as major insurers drop homeowners coverage.
• After devastating fires, California homeowners said insurers left them with insufficient coverage for rebuilding.
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