Survivors of the Altadena Fire Monday called on the California Department of Insurance to take immediate action to provide wildfire relief and hold insurers accountable after months of facing delays and denials on their claims.
“Behind every delayed insurance claim is a family forced to wait in limbo,” Victoria Knapp, chair of the Altadena Town Council, said in a statement. “We’re asking the Department of Insurance to stand with Altadena and NOT with insurers to deliver justice for those who’ve already lost so much.”
Members of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network joined state representatives and called on Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to comply with five requests.
They asked the state to amend the California FAIR Plan — an insurance option often seen as a last resort for homeowners in the state — to guarantee smoke coverage. Wildfire survivors requested the department enforce laws to ensure families remained housed.
Additionally, survivors called for more transparency in loss estimates, and to make the department’s complaint process more transparent.
Lastly, the group urged the department to immediately conduct an investigation into State Farm’s handling of claims within 60 days, which have had homeowners frustrated for months, and to focus on complaints alleging insurers are limiting people’s short-term living coverage.
“We paid our premiums faithfully for decades, trusting insurers to protect us. Now they’re using illegal delays and denials to profit from our pain. Families are maxing out credit cards, draining savings and living in contaminated homes,” Joy Chen, co-founder and CEO of Eaton Fire Survivors Network, said in a statement.
“We call on the California Department of Insurance to stand with survivors, not with the insurers breaking the law,” she added.
Assembly members John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, and Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, and Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, rebuked insurance companies. They also highlighted AB 238, authored by Harabedian, that would implement mortgage forbearance for one-year while homeowners recover and rebuild.
“Our responsibility is clear: to protect survivors, give them the time and resources to rebuild their home and their lives, and ensure they can do so with security and peace of mind,” Harabedian said in a statement.
“That’s why I am leading this effort — calling on the California Department of Insurance to act swiftly and decisively, enforce the law, expedite claims, and provide every protection available — so families can recover with dignity and hope for the future,”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes Altadena, thanked Harabedian for introducing the bill, which she said in a statement she supports.
“Too many continue to face undue claim delays, underpayments and denials that compound their hardship and loss,” Barger said in a statement. “Continued vigilance in oversight and enforcement are vital, and new reforms are needed from our state regulators and legislature.”
State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, is seeking a rate increase of 11%. In May, a judge authorized the company to implement an emergency rate hike of 17%.
In the following month, Lara announced his department would be conducting a market conduct exam of State Farm, citing several complaints about how it handled smoke damage and other claims.
“Our goals align with fire survivors. We want individuals to recover on their own terms. I launched a thorough investigation into State Farm’s wildfire claims, but holding up rate filing without a legal basis affects the integrity of our entire market, including wildfire survivors who need access to insurance options,” Lara said in a statement Monday.
As of Monday, State Farm has received more than 13,000 claims related to January’s wildfires, and paid more than $4.5 billion to California customers, according to the company’s website.
A representative for State Farm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bob Devereux, a spokesman for State Farm, told the Los Angeles Times that the company was not mistreating its customers, noting an “overwhelming majority are satisfied with our service.”
“Our goal at State Farm is to work with customers to resolve any of their concerns,” Devereux told The Times.