Homeowner Regge Egger in Plain, Washington, said he feels hopeless.
He has spent decades and tens of thousands of dollars meticulously ensuring his home could withstand a wildfire. That's why he was shocked in May when Farmers Insurance dropped him as a customer.
The reason? "Wildfire risk."
State records obtained by KING 5 show Egger is not the only one — and that the problem is only getting worse.
The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has received more wildfire-related policy complaints of people being dropped in the first half of 2024 than the last two years combined. That’s leaving homeowners scrambling to find new coverage, worried about keeping their mortgages and wondering if they need to, or even can, sell their homes.
'I'm not the only one'
In one Benton County man’s complaint, he said he "spent upwards of $100,000 to protect his property," only to be dropped "like flies." A man in rural Eastern Washington complained his insurance company suddenly dumped him with no recourse saying, "No effort was made to contact me or to work with me."
This isn’t the first time an insurer dumped Egger; in 2017, PEMCO Insurance dropped him "because of the increasing risk of wildfire." What he didn’t anticipate was how hard it would be to find new coverage. He knocked on the doors of several agencies.
“I’m not the only one. I hope more people will yell and holler and say, 'This is wrong,'” said Egger.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler admits the state isn’t tracking how many homeowners are being dropped. That means his office doesn’t know if it’s actual wildfire risk or financial gain prompting insurance companies to dump clients at a record rate.
“I’m not saying that we don’t have issues out there, but how much is driven because of wildfire exposure and how much is driven by economic issues,” said Kreidler.
The Commissioner is tracking homeowners who applied for Washington’s last resort insurance program known as the FAIR plan, a plan is reserved for homeowners who cannot get insurance from any other company. The number of homeowners on Washington’s FAIR plan has gone up in the last five years, jumping more than 200%.
Kreidler said while the office is keeping an eye on this data, Washington’s numbers are nowhere near other states like California and Florida.
“It’s the biggest issue of our time right now,” said Kenton Brine who is the president of advocacy group the Northwest Insurance Council.
Kenton said wildfires are causing insurance companies to lose money and federal data backs up his claim. He said wildfire damage and destruction is skyrocketing, and rebuilding a home costs more than ever.
“I don’t think anyone’s asking for people to feel sorry for insurance companies, but it is important for people to understand what’s happening in the insurance industry,” said Brine.
Industry advocates said insurance companies aren’t making offhand decisions and that the companies are doing their due diligence. Companies say they assess wildfire risk with satellite images, climate change projections, and wildfire history. But critics argue the system is far from transparent.
Steps to reduce risk don't sway insurance companies
Egger said at its core, the company he’s paid into for years is supposed to protect him from disaster. Getting dropped feels like a betrayal, he said.
“I realize there are some companies out there that don’t give a squat about their clients," he said. Egger is working to guarantee his property will withstand wildfire, taking every measure to show insurers he’s minimizing that risk.
Even so, some companies admit it doesn’t matter.
State records KING 5 obtained included a Progressive Insurance letter to an Issaquah homeowner. The letter states that while the company encourages her to "reduce the property’s wildfire risk," any improvements are "unlikely to change" the outcome.
KING 5 asked Commissioner Kreidler whether the state had any culpability in this issue.
“What we’re likely to be accused of is not being more flexible for the insurance companies, not the reverse. We are there for the consumer and we are going to fight for the consumer at every chance we possibly can,” said Kreidler.
'They should insure everyone'
Not only has Regge Egger worked hard to keep his property safe from fire — it was his second career. He was a volunteer firefighter for 13 years with Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue.
“I have confidence in them. I know if the fire got close as a last-ditch effort, they’d come out here, spray all the structures with foam and stay as long as they could because I did the same thing for someone else. They didn’t pull us out,” said Egger who said he did all he could to get insurance companies to reconsider.
Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue wrote a letter on Egger's behalf, stating in their region, the department has not seen a single home lost to wildfire in over 10 years. Egger said many potential insurers wouldn’t even look at it.
He did finally get homeowners insurance with USAA, but it came with strings attached. His premium costs tripled and his daughter took over the expenses.
This is the reality of someone on a fixed income with a home the insurance industry decided is a wildfire risk, no matter what.
“If they only want to insure the sure things, that’s not insurance. To me if they want to insure in Washington, they should insure everyone,” said Egger.
Homeowners from across the state sent KING 5 non-renewal notices, including some from in King County. Because of the increase in complaints, the Insurance Commissioner plans to start collecting data in the fall.