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

(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.

California’s plan that provides insurance to homeowners who can’t get private coverage needs $1 billion more to pay out claims related to the Los Angeles wildfires, the state Insurance Department said Tuesday.