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Safeco Corp., the Seattle-based insurer that slightly more than a month ago imposed a moratorium on new homeowners policies in California, has quietly jumped back into the market.
The insurer lifted its moratorium Aug. 27 while it awaits a decision from the state Department of Insurance on its proposed rate increase of nearly 20 percent. Safeco said last month that it could get back in the market if the state approved the increase.
The reason behind Safeco's decision appears to be a Sacramento County Superior Court ruling last week against the state insurance commissioner. The court determined that Commissioner John Garamendi lacked legal authority to restrict insurers' choices about what risk to insure. On behalf of fearful insurers, three trade associations had challenged Garamendi's emergency regulations for homeowners insurance.
Safeco, which has 240,000 California policyholders and is the seventh-largest seller of homeowners policies in the state, would not say why it lifted the moratorium. It was a business decision, spokesman Patrick Summers said.
But Safeco referred to the court decision, and to the company's strong desire to cross-sell homeowners and auto...