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Sherman Oaks small business owner Angela Marsden, who owns Pineapple Hill Saloon, joins the conversation on insurance giants discontinuing coverage in California, highlighting the hurdles she faces in maintaining her business amidst escalating crime rates.
She is caught in the aftermath of neighborhood crime, grappling with the severe consequences of not being able to sustain her insurance policy.
Similarly, businesses like Casa Vega, owned by Christy Vega, are not only recovering from fires but also hunting for new insurance providers after being abruptly dropped due to a surge in robberies and property damage.
Marsden revealed that her insurer ceased operations in California last year, leaving her burdened with a staggering $44,000 annual liability insurance cost, a significant jump from the previous year's $16,000. Confronted with the grim reality of unaffordable insurance, businesses face the agonizing choice of whether to persevere or permanently close their doors.
“I am getting ready to raise my prices 12%,” she said. “Not one restaurant owner I know wants to do this,” said Marsden.
According to NBC Los Angeles, a representative from the Insurance Information Institute:
They are reducing the amount of commercial or property they can insure and pay out the claims,”
Insurance companies feel they don’t make sufficient profit in California due to its crime rate.
In the end, small business owners shoulder the burden when they are simply striving to earn a living, and customers will face an additional 12% cost as businesses seek to recoup their losses. As a result, the impact of crime will be felt by everyone.