California’s Last-Resort Insurer Wins Appeal Over Regulator

California’s insurance commissioner can’t require the state’s insurer of last resort to provide liability coverage as part of “basic property insurance,” a state appeals court ruled.

The California Court of Appeal, Second District on Dec. 5 backed the California FAIR Plan Association’s challenge to a 2021 order by the commissioner directing the last-resort insurer to offer a homeowner’s plan that included coverage for risks such as premises liability and incidental workers’ compensation.

The FAIR Plan argued that the order violated California’s Basic Property Insurance Law because liability coverage provisions like those required by the order don’t count as “basic property ...