Home insurer to lower rates in Bay Area

Oakland Tribune, Sep 14, 2007 by Steve JohnsonSTAFF

Chubb Insurance has agreed to roll back its home insurance rates by

18.4 percent in a move that should save thousands of Bay Area and other California residents about $14.5 million a year, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said Thursday.

The change will result in an average savings of $800 a year for each of Chubb's home policyholders, but would likely amount to an even bigger savings in the Bay Area, where property values tend to be disproportionately high, Poizner said.

Chubb has 18,000 such policyholders statewide and about 5,000 in the Bay Area, which Chubb defines as including San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties.

Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman in Poizner's office, said the rate cut should take effect immediately.

Chubb executives could not be immediately reached for comment about the rate cut.

Poizner said the New Jersey company voluntarily agreed to lower its rates, and had not been accused by the insurance commissioner of charging excessively high prices. But he said he has been urging insurers since taking office nine months ago to lower their rates and he added that Chubb executives were among those he has talked to.

"I've made it really crystal clear that one of my top priorities is that Californians get access to the most affordable homeowner insurance possible," he said. "And so I have encouraged companies to reduce rates when their cost structure allows them to do so."

In July, Poizner approved a $65.8 million rate reduction for GEICO auto insurance customers, and in May he ordered Allstate to show cause for excessive homeowners insurance rates.

Poizner also has said he is working to expand California's Low Cost Auto Insurance program, which provides low-income good drivers with access to affordable liability automobile insurance.

Contact Steve Johnson at sjohnson@mercurynews.com or 408-920- 5043.