The California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, has received approval to assess its member carriers $1 billion to help pay its L.A. fire losses -- with consumers possibly on hook for nearly half under new state policy.

(Reuters) - California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has requested $1 billion in additional funds from the commission's member insurers to shore up the state-backed FAIR Plan after wildfires ravaged swathes of land in and around Los Angeles last month.

After saying it would run out of funds by March, California’s last-resort fire insurance provider will impose a special charge of $1 billion on homeowners and insurance companies, the first such move in more than three decades.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has approved the California Fair Plan’s request to levy a $1bn assessment on its member insurance companies to help pay for wildfire losses, according to the state’s Department of Insurance (CDI).

California’s insurer of last resort reported that claims now are high enough to trigger “reinsurance” payments from back-up providers.

That’s enough to kick the plan’s strained finances further into crisis mode, increasing the chances that homeowners statewide will see insurance costs rise.