After a year marked by insurance companies pulling out of California, state officials say five major insurers are committing to the state.

The California Department of Insurance confirmed to CBS Sacramento that Mercury Insurance, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty, and California Casualty all announced plans to "stay and grow in the state." Together, they represent three of California's top seven largest homeowners' insurance providers.

In recent years, insurers cited wildfire risks, rising costs, and state regulations as reasons for limiting or stopping coverage in California.

In conversation with Bill Clinton at a livestreamed Clinton Global Initiative event on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that state reforms, like addressing reinsurance, enticed the companies to come back.

"We had to address the capital needs of these companies and we also had to address the fact that California, and you wouldn't know this, is among the most affordable insurance markets in the country because the voters initiated a framework on regulation that denied significant rate increases," Newsom said during the discussion focused on climate issues.

Newsom called insurance one of the most pressing global issues as it relates to climate change.

The state's reforms are called the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, touted by Newsom during the conversation.

Under the changes, insurers can now use catastrophe modeling -- computer programs that analyze wildfire history, climate trends, and other information or data -- to more accurately calculate risk and set rates. In exchange, they are required to expand coverage in high-fire-risk areas, where homeowners have struggled to find affordable policies in the past.

All five companies have also requested rate changes of 6.9%, a figure the Department of Insurance spokesperson says matches thousands of increases approved under past commissioners, outlined in a statement shared with CBS Sacramento on Wednesday, confirming the insurer's decisions.

The Department of Insurance spokesperson, in a statement, framed the reforms as a way to balance insurer sustainability with consumer access, with a goal that more Californians in wildfire-prone areas can secure coverage.

"This is a far cry from what has happened in the past, when insurance companies increased their rates and dropped policies. Under Commissioner Lara's Sustainable Insurance Strategy, we are seeing initial signs of market improvement despite the devastating L.A. wildfires," said Michael Soller, a department spokesperson, in a statement.

For now, homeowners may still face higher rates, but state leaders argue the reforms offer accessibility.

Amid insurance exodus in California, 5 insurance companies commit to stay in state