Heber-Overgaard property owners faced insurance non-renewals before tornado
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Before a tornado tore through the small northern Arizona community of Heber-Overgaard, some homeowners in its path had already lost coverage as insurers pulled out over wildfire risk. Non-renewals can create issues with access and affordability for homeowners’ insurance policies. As to why insurance companies are dropping customers in some parts of Arizona, Phoenix insurance broker Ray Johnson told Arizona’s Family that the companies all buy policies called reinsurance, which covers large losses. “So the insurance carrier will pay out a certain amount of the claims. They will file against the reinsurance carrier and that’ll kind of pay the rest, and that’s how insurance companies stay afloat by not being sunk by one big fire,” he said. “But the reinsurance companies have all pulled out of these high-fire zone areas. Same with hurricane areas in the South and the…