California homeowners could face property insurance hikes under new rules

California homeowners may face noticeable insurance rate hikes under new rules finalized by state regulators that allow property insurers to use complex climate algorithms — what consumer advocates call secret “black box” models — to set prices… California’s property insurance rates are set by the state, which has led many property insurers such as State Farm and Allstate to stop accepting new customers or leave the state entirely. With payouts from wildfires and other disasters exceeding insurance premiums, insurers have no choice but to call it quits. At the same time, rising property insurance costs are pushing homeowners to other states, which S&P warned could cut into state tax revenue and cause downgrades to government credit. This leaves California regulators in a tough position — they can let insurers raise rates, which puts more pressure on Californians to leave, or they can refuse to raise rates and let insurers leave… The new regulations will allow insurers to use climate and catastrophe modeling to set much higher property insurance rates