Jason Oppenheim Says Fire Insurance Rates Will Stay Heavily Inflated After L.A. Fires

Jason Oppenheim says fire insurance rates have skyrocketed since the Los Angeles wildfires burned through major neighborhoods in the city ... and, he says all Californians are going to pay for it for in the years to come.

We caught up with the "Selling Sunset" star outside LAVO -- a popular Italian restaurant in West Hollywood -- Friday night while he was headed out to his birthday dinner ... and, we had to ask him about the cost of fire insurance going through the roof.

Oppenheim says rates went way up in the immediate aftermath of the fires ... and, while they're coming down as the market corrects, they won't be returning to pre-fire prices.

JO tells us fire insurance rates will stay up about 20 or 30% higher than they used to be for all Californians -- not just Angelenos. Oppenheim half-jokes that until A.I. drones can immediately put out fires, the rates won't be moving down.

While many in CA are seeing their rates go up, Jason says his clients are now renting after their homes burned in the January fires ... so, they're not paying fire insurance at all.

Jason also gives a way for buyers to get better rates ... relying on free market capitalism. Watch the clip until the end to hear his explanation.

On top of chatting with Jason, we also spoke with several housing and insurance experts ... like Karl Susman of Susman Insurance Agency who tells us the property insurance market has been trying to rebalance for years with rates slowly going up because of increased risk.

January fires were the last straw ... an example of massive wildfires happening too often and destroying too much for insurance companies to put an accurate price on a catastrophic loss like this.

Susman says the industry has to go through a bureaucratic process to figure out who they will insure and for how much ... but, it takes time -- and, in the interim, the rates will stay incredible high.

We're told Susman sees a lot of people trying to figure out their plans ... whether they want to rebuild in CA or move somewhere else altogether.

Rodeo Realty's James Respondek adds things are going to be "totally different" when it comes to home insurance prices ... claiming State Farm is seeking an emergency 22% rate hike on homeowners insurance -- so people can expect prices to soar.

Climate change, Respondek says, will lead to these kinds of issues everywhere, not just CA ... and, insurance companies are totally leaving Los Angeles because it's just too difficult to insure.

When it comes to these bigger houses, homeowners are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on fire insurance, Respondek adds.

We also chatted with Walter Lopes -- who says he's the first person to have his home rebuilt in Pacific Palisades.

Lopes says he was adamant about getting the house built again ... and, he says he's no insurance experts -- so he doesn't know if they're overcharging him. But, he wants an insurance company that has his back -- adding if they're going to charge more but guarantee smooth sailing if the house burns again, then he's fine with it.

Walter is changing his insurance plan though ... 'cause his coverage wasn't sufficient for this most recent disaster.