To the California State Legislature, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and the California Department of Insurance:

California’s home insurance system is collapsing. Major insurers — including State Farm, Allstate, and USAA — are pulling out of our state or refusing to write new policies. Homeowners across fire-prone regions are being dropped, priced out, or forced into the underfunded California FAIR Plan — an emergency backup system that was never meant to carry the load it’s bearing now.

This crisis has a cause beyond wildfires and climate change. It’s being worsened by a single group with too much power and too little accountability: Consumer Watchdog.

Originally created to protect consumers from unfair pricing, Consumer Watchdog now uses Proposition 103 to block or delay nearly every insurance rate adjustment, even when increases are backed by hard data. Their actions are doing real harm:

They fought State Farm’s emergency 17% rate increase, filed in response to major wildfire losses and rising reinsurance costs. State Farm warned it couldn’t stay financially viable — but Consumer Watchdog opposed the request and demanded delays.
They use legal challenges to slow down approvals, forcing insurers to wait months or even years to adjust premiums — driving companies to pause or leave California entirely.
They are contributing to a shrinking market, where families are now paying more for less, often stuck on the FAIR Plan with high deductibles, limited coverage, and no realistic alternative.
This isn’t protecting consumers — it’s cornering them.

We, the undersigned, demand urgent action to reform Proposition 103 by:

Limiting the unchecked influence of third-party groups like Consumer Watchdog in rate review processes unless clear evidence of wrongdoing exists.
Modernizing the rate approval system so that insurers can respond to real risk in real time — based on data, not politics.
Restoring balance between consumer protection and a functioning insurance marketplace that serves all Californians.
If insurers can’t operate sustainably here, they won’t operate here at all. That leaves homeowners with fewer options, higher premiums, and mounting anxiety about the next wildfire season.

California needs insurance reform now — before the market collapses entirely.

Please sign this petition to protect your home, your family, and the future of California’s insurance market.

Sincerely,
Nicole Edwards
Arroyo Grande, California