They’re not going to have enough money to pay these claims,” said Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit that advocates for insurance customers.

If that happens, it will trigger an assessment on every home insurance policyholder in the state to cover the outstanding claims. It’s a mechanism available under some state-backed insurance plans — one that’s known in Florida as the “hurricane tax.” Now, for the first time, Californians may be hit with the “wildfire tax.”