Home Insurance

Re your editorial “This Can’t Wait for a Federal Solution,” Jan. 6:

You just don’t get it! The reason for this state’s homeowner insurance mess is precisely because previous state philosophy, your paper’s philosophy and former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s philosophy was to force insurance companies to offer the product the state mandated (fire insurance with earthquake coverage) at prices regulated by the state, not the company.

When insurers took huge losses and were unable to raise premiums, raise earthquake deductibles or drop areas of huge losses (earthquake), they did what any sane person or company would do--they stopped writing new policies. They took this action because they were not able to offer products that they wished to, at rates that they deemed profitable.

When it became impossible to obtain fire insurance policies, the state’s immediate reaction was to consider forcing the companies to continue to offer unprofitable products--what a joke! Commissioner Charles Quackenbush’s plan for “delinkage” is the first rational step back to a market economy.

PETER ROSENTHAL

La Canada Flintridge