Bay Area home insurance rates could jump amid climate risks

1 big thing: Homeowners insurance amid climate risks


Thousands of Kaiser health care workers strike in Bay Area

2. Kaiser health care workers go on strike

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Bi-Rite set to open next year in Russian Hill

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Data: First Street Foundation; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

About 22% of properties in the San Francisco Bay Area could be facing higher insurance premiums or policy non-renewals due to the risk of wildfires or flooding, a new analysis shows.

Driving the news: Insurers are changing how they factor climate and extreme weather risks into premiums. Others are suspending coverage altogether.

The big picture: Tens of millions of properties nationwide could see higher premiums because of these climate- and weather-related risks, including potential wind damage, per estimates from the First Street Foundation, a climate data nonprofit.

Zoom in: Nearly 15% of properties in the Bay Area are at risk of higher insurance premiums or non-renewals due to wildfire, while about 8% of properties are at risk of rate increases or non-renewals due to flooding, per the analysis.

What's happening: When it comes to wildfire and wind damage, some private insurers are dropping policyholders as the risk of those threats grows, says Jeremy Porter, First Street's head of climate implications research.

That's leading many homeowners to opt for public "insurer of last resort" plans — but often at higher rates.

California state law, for example, prevents private insurers from raising their rates more than 7% a year, but public plans have no such cap.

Some Californians have gone from paying $1,500 annually for their private plan to $6,000-plus for a public plan.

Of note: California leaders announced a plan last month to lure insurers back to the state by more quickly deciding on rate hike requests.

Meanwhile, FEMA recently updated its flood insurance pricing model for the first time since the 1970s, leading to higher premiums that are more reflective of today's flooding risks, Porter says.

The intrigue: 8 million households are in FEMA flood zones, but only 4.7 million have active flood insurance policies.

About 22% of properties in the area could be facing higher insurance premiums or policy non-renewals.

Climate change

About 22% of properties in the San Francisco Bay Area could be facing <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="higher insurance premiums" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/06/climate-change-homeowners-insurance-state-farm-california-florida" data-vars-content-id="3b34077b-3d53-4453-971d-70fa6441838f" data-vars-headline="Bay Area home insurance rates could jump amid climate risks" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/06/climate-change-homeowners-insurance-state-farm-california-florida" target="_self">higher insurance premiums</a> or policy non-renewals due to the risk of wildfires or flooding, a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://report.firststreet.org/" data-vars-content-id="3b34077b-3d53-4453-971d-70fa6441838f" data-vars-headline="Bay Area home insurance rates could jump amid climate risks" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://report.firststreet.org/" target="_blank">new analysis</a> shows.Driving the news: Insurers are changing how they factor climate and extreme weather risks into premiums. Others are suspending coverage altogether.

News

Climate

San Diego

Axios San Diego

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers went on strike in the Bay Area on Wednesday morning.

What's happening: Kaiser and a coalition of unions representing its workers have failed to reach a deal to renew a contract that expired Sept. 30.

Union leaders are fighting for more staffing and higher annual pay raises, arguing their wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living and inflation.

Why it matters: The three-day protest of roughly 75,000 workers across hundreds of Kaiser medical facilities is the largest health care strike in U.S. history, according to the unions.

Zoom in: In the Bay Area, the workers' strike started at 6am at Kaiser medical centers in San Francisco, South San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Antioch, Fremont, Redwood City, Richmond, Manteca, San Leandro, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Vallejo and Walnut Creek.

Zoom out: Strike lines are set up at Kaiser medical facilities across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The big picture: Since the pandemic, the health care industry has struggled with labor shortages and worker burnout — and unrest has grown.

Last year, about 15,000 nurses went on strike for three days in Minnesota in what was believed to be the largest nursing strike in U.S. history.

State of play: The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has criticized the health care giant for chronic understaffing that's led to long waits for appointments and delays in patient care services.

Union leaders are fighting for higher annual pay raises, arguing their wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living and inflation.

Of note: Kaiser notified its members of the potential strike, and patients will be contacted by Kaiser directly if they need to do virtual or reschedule non-urgent appointments and procedures.

What to watch: The strike is expected to last for three days, and contract negotiations are ongoing.

Kaiser and a coalition of unions representing its workers have failed to reach a deal to renew a contract that expired Sept. 30.

The Kaiser Permanente San Francisco location in 2021. Photo: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Kaiser Permanente

Thousands of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Kaiser Permanente health care workers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/09/22/kaiser-permanente-strike-authorization-bay-area" data-vars-content-id="4ca4f20e-bade-46e2-b15f-20fa7df43f7a" data-vars-headline="Thousands of Kaiser health care workers strike in Bay Area" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/09/22/kaiser-permanente-strike-authorization-bay-area" target="_self">Kaiser Permanente health care workers</a> went on strike in the Bay Area on Wednesday morning.What&#x27;s happening: Kaiser and a coalition of unions representing its workers have failed to reach a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="deal to renew a contract" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-diego/2023/09/21/kaiser-permanente-health-care-workers-san-diego-vote-strike" data-vars-content-id="4ca4f20e-bade-46e2-b15f-20fa7df43f7a" data-vars-headline="Thousands of Kaiser health care workers strike in Bay Area" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-diego/2023/09/21/kaiser-permanente-health-care-workers-san-diego-vote-strike" target="_self">deal to renew a contract</a> that expired Sept. 30.

Health

Bi-Rite Market's previously announced third location in San Francisco is scheduled to open next spring, according to the grocery store.

State of play: The specialty grocer recently signed a lease for two adjacent retail spaces on Polk Street between Broadway and Vallejo streets in Russian Hill.

One of those spaces is currently home to Real Foods Co., a neighborhood market Bi-Rite has acquired. The adjacent storefront, which was most recently a hair salon, has sat vacant since at least 2021.

Bi-Rite expects construction to last about 20 weeks as it combines the two storefronts into one cohesive grocery store.

Bi-Rite's two other locations are in the Mission and Alamo Square/NoPa.

Of note: Bi-Rite is encouraging Real Foods staff to apply for jobs at its other locations during the construction of its Russian Hill store.

What they're saying: Bi-Rite had been looking to open a new location for more than five years, Sam Mogannam, the grocer's founder and owner, told Axios via email.

"For Bi-Rite, it's been about finding a space where we could become a true part of the community for many, many years," Mogannam said.

The specialty grocer recently signed a lease for two adjacent retail spaces on Polk Street.

Bi-Rite Market's location in the Mission. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Grocery

Bi-Rite Market&#x27;s previously announced <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="third location" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/10/24/bi-rite-new-market-polk-street" data-vars-content-id="cd830cd8-305d-4820-b779-139feb8f94c0" data-vars-headline="Bi-Rite set to open next year in Russian Hill" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/10/24/bi-rite-new-market-polk-street" target="_self">third location</a> in San Francisco is scheduled to open next spring, according to the grocery store.State of play: The specialty grocer recently signed a lease for two adjacent retail spaces on Polk Street between Broadway and Vallejo streets in Russian Hill.

Business

A San Francisco-based startup aims to help homeowners navigate the switch from gas to electric water heaters.

Why it matters: Onsemble's launch comes as there is a continued push toward alternative energy and cities like San Francisco have set goals to lower emissions.

The most significant contributor to climate change worldwide is fossil fuels, and buildings accounted for 44% of greenhouse gas emissions in San Francisco in 2020.

State of play: Onsemble opened its waitlist last month and is initially accepting clients in Marin, Sonoma and Contra Costa counties.

Founded by Rick Klau, a former Google Ventures partner, and Julia Yrani, a former cybersecurity executive, Onsemble plans to launch in San Francisco in early 2024, according to Yrani, co-founder and president of the startup.

The launch comes at a time when there are a number of existing and upcoming incentives, including in the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocates $8.8 billion in rebates for homeowners to make their homes more efficient and upgrade to electric appliances.

Yes, but: Despite these incentives for homeowners to convert to electric appliances, "every single one of them will be met by an incredibly opaque and fragmented process that will likely churn most people out of it," Yrani told Axios.

Details: Onsemble wants to help homeowners take advantage of those incentives, find the right appliance and select the right contractor.

The company's focus is initially on water heaters, but the plan is to also help homeowners electrify their furnaces, stoves and more.

Onsemble hopes to eventually connect those smart, electric appliances to a virtual power plant, where a utility provider can shift demand when needed to help stabilize the grid, Yrani explained.

What they're saying: Dana Armanino, a sustainability planner for Marin County, said it will be "a very valuable resource in the future if we can schedule appliances to take in that renewable energy at peak production and store it, and then discharge it during peak demand times."

She added, "it saves us from having to build another power plant and all the emissions that come with that."

Zoom in: San Francisco has been chipping away at a plan to be a net-zero-emissions city by 2040.

The city is awaiting a decision on whether the city will receive a grant to begin testing virtual power plants, Tyrone Jue, director of San Francisco's environment department, told Axios.

Jue envisions some technical challenges around getting different virtual power plants connected to each other, but thinks "it's imminent we'll see scaling of virtual power plants."

Of note: Onsemble will need to partner with utility providers for a virtual power plant, but MCE, a power provider based in the North Bay Area, is already exploring a virtual power plant pilot in Richmond.

A virtual power plant decreases the need to power fossil fuel peaker plants, which only run when there is high demand, and can save customers money by lowering their usage during those hours, MCE executive Alexandra McGee said via email to Axios.

What to watch: Whether more homeowners convert their gas-burning appliances to electric ones, and whether they'll opt those appliances into a virtual power plant.

As of 2020, just 8% of homes were all-electric in California, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

San Francisco startup wants to help you electrify your home

Onsemble's launch comes as there is a continued push toward alternative energy sources.

Electric grid

A San Francisco-based startup aims to help homeowners navigate the switch from gas to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="electric water heaters" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/06/google-vet-hot-water-heater-power-plant-onsemble" data-vars-content-id="e5021440-bc37-4f05-a7db-707a4f48af99" data-vars-headline="San Francisco startup wants to help you electrify your home" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/06/google-vet-hot-water-heater-power-plant-onsemble" target="_self">electric water heaters</a>.Why it matters: Onsemble&#x27;s launch comes as there is a continued push toward <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="alternative energy" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/energy-environment/alternative-energy" data-vars-content-id="e5021440-bc37-4f05-a7db-707a4f48af99" data-vars-headline="San Francisco startup wants to help you electrify your home" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/energy-environment/alternative-energy" target="_self">alternative energy</a> and cities like San Francisco have set goals to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="lower emissions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/11/10/san-francisco-climate-action-plan-electric-vehicles" data-vars-content-id="e5021440-bc37-4f05-a7db-707a4f48af99" data-vars-headline="San Francisco startup wants to help you electrify your home" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/11/10/san-francisco-climate-action-plan-electric-vehicles" target="_self">lower emissions</a>.

A key piece of San Francisco's plans to revitalize downtown is coming to fruition.

Why it matters: Downtown San Francisco became a ghost town during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as people stayed home.

From March through May, downtown foot traffic was at about 32% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

What's happening: Beginning this week, 17 pop-ups will open in the Financial District as part of the city's Vacant to Vibrant program.

The pop-ups — featuring Rosalind Bakery, Sucka Flea market and swap, apparel brand Nature's Keeper, Devil's Teeth Baking Company and others — will be spread throughout nine previously vacant storefronts.

What they're saying: Mayor London Breed has said previously that finding "creative ways to fill our empty storefronts" is one of her priorities.

Victor Gonzalez, co-founder of pop-up participant GCS Agency, said people can "expect elevated experiences" that fuse art with curated furniture. 

"It's not just a gallery — it's a dynamic, immersive haven for art lovers and enthusiasts alike," he said in a written statement.

What's next: You can check out the full pop-up programming here.

The opening celebration kicks off Thursday at 10am.

Downtown pop-ups coming this week

A key piece of San Francisco's plans to revitalize downtown San Francisco is coming to fruition.

Nature's Keeper founder Zain Ali will have a pop-up in downtown San Francisco as part of Vacant to Vibrant. Photo: Courtesy of Vacant to Vibrant

City economy

A key piece of San Francisco&#x27;s plans to revitalize <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="downtown" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/08/08/downtown-san-francisco-foot-traffic-pandemic-recovery" data-vars-content-id="e99bef2d-8c11-4d24-9159-bfa7af0e55ef" data-vars-headline="Downtown pop-ups coming this week" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/08/08/downtown-san-francisco-foot-traffic-pandemic-recovery" target="_self">downtown</a> is coming to fruition.Why it matters: Downtown San Francisco became a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ghost town" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/05/05/downtown-san-francisco-recovery-pandemic-struggles" data-vars-content-id="e99bef2d-8c11-4d24-9159-bfa7af0e55ef" data-vars-headline="Downtown pop-ups coming this week" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2023/05/05/downtown-san-francisco-recovery-pandemic-struggles" target="_self">ghost town</a> during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as people stayed home.

Megan Rose Dickey

Stories

Bay Area home insurance rates could jump amid climate risks

Thousands of Kaiser health care workers strike in Bay Area

Bi-Rite set to open next year in Russian Hill

San Francisco startup wants to help you electrify your home

Downtown pop-ups coming this week

Newsletter editions

🏡 Insurance's climate risks

📜 Preserving Latino history

⚡️ Electrifying homes

🎓 Student loan bills are back

🧑‍🏫 Teacher strike vote