HONOLULU – Sissy Noelani is one of the Hawaii homeowners whose insurance premiums have skyrocketed over the last year.
And she believes it will only get worse.
“As soon as I saw the news, the fires in LA, they have fires every year it seems like, but it’s so big,” Noelani told me. “And with the Lahaina one impacting us like it did, this is really terrifying.”
Insurance agents stated that the concerns are valid.
“Since Lahaina, we saw our rate skyrocket least 300% to 500% on average for a condominium,” she told me. “I don’t care whether you’re working or retired or starting out in life, everybody suffered through rate increases.”
And, given the already high cost of living, “it’s cutting my budget,” Noelani explained. “I mean, it’s difficult to buy food. It’s difficult to buy everything, and the rising cost of insurance was unexpected. You expect a slight increase, but it’s more than doubling. It is tripling and quadrupling, and it is depleting everything.”
With the fires in Los Angeles, the Hawaii Insurance Division stated that such large-scale disasters can have an indirect impact on the local insurance market.
With higher costs for primary insurers, companies may tighten their underwriting standards to mitigate risks, affecting the availability and affordability of coverage.
Insurers operating in areas devastated by natural disasters may raise premiums here to recoup losses.
The state also stated that it is “closely monitoring the situation” to ensure that consumers have reliable coverage.
But the start of the new year already appears bleak.
“So I was hoping 2025 will be another good year,” Savio told the crowd. “Right now, California is on fire. Obviously, this is not going to be a good year.
