The release of new wildfire hazard maps by Cal Fire indicates a significant increase in very-high and moderate fire zones in Southern California. Homeowners are concerned that this could lead to higher insurance rates. However, insurance trade groups and consumer advocates clarify that insurers utilize their own, more precise risk assessment maps rather than Cal Fire's. Despite public anxiety, experts affirm that the new state maps will not directly influence insurance pricing decisions or coverage investments.
"The Cal Fire maps are not what we use to look at our risk," said Janet Ruiz, Western U.S. representative for the Insurance Information Institute, a national insurance trade association.
"People are nervous about it," added consumer advocate Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders. But, she said, "insurance companies don't rely on these maps to decide who they're going to insure and how much they're going to charge."
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