Low's order widens the reach of California's Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan. FAIR Plans were created to make property insurance more readily available to people who have difficulty obtaining it from private insurers because their property is considered "high risk." California's plan was established in 1968.

"The expansion of the FAIR Plan will help provide relief to those who live in high-risk areas with no insurance options and who were formerly ineligible for FAIR Plan coverage," says Low. "Despite their reasonable efforts, many Californians have been unable to obtain insurance in the normal marketplace."

FAIR was expanded statewide in 1994, following the Northridge earthquake, when property owners living in quake-prone areas began having problems getting insurance. However, the program was reduced in 1999, after the state's Earthquake Authority was created to provide insurance for those areas.

Some 36,000 FAIR policies were canceled last year, according to the California Insurance Department. However, approximately 40 of these property owners began complaining that they couldn't find any insurers willing to take them on, thus prompting Low to once again expand the program.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for home insurance under the California FAIR Plan, the property owner must prove he or she has been unable to obtain property insurance through normal channels. This evidence must include a letter written to the FAIR Plan requesting an expansion of the plan's eligible areas to include the address of the owner's property, for which insurance is unavailable. The letter must also include proof that the owner has contacted and been rejected by at least home three insurers. The letter must contain:

1. Copies of at least three written rejections received from the insurers.
2. The reason for the rejections.
3. The name of the agent or broker who attempted to place the insurance.