Saw this very misleading article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (but actually from CalMatters), this morning: "State has options as home insurers retreat". Prompted by State Farm's decision to leave the California market for home insurance, it quotes Michael Soller, a deputy commissioner for the state’s insurance department, as saying "California still has about 115 companies offering home insurance." The implication is that State Farm's decision is just a bump in the road; that homeowners still have many options.
And yet, so many of my neighbors in the Santa Cruz Mountains can find zero insurers willing to sell them a policy. My realtor has told me that, if we didn't already have a policy, our home would be uninsurable today (except on the the state-run FAIR plan).
This is a great example of why so few people trust the media anymore; their statements (or at least their implications) are simply at odds with what their readers can plainly see.