Insurance commissioner candidates float bigger California role
Insurance commissioner candidates float bigger California role

A few of the candidates vying to be California’s next insurance commissioner want to address the insurance crisis by having the state take a bigger financial role. Some of the problems they’re trying to solve include: Not all insurance companies will write new policies in…
CA says State Farm violated the law in handling of insurance claims after Eaton, Palisades fires
CA says State Farm violated the law in handling of insurance claims after Eaton, Palisades fires

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Insurance giant State Farm may temporarily lose its California license after an investigation found it violated the law in its handling of claims from the 2025 wildfires. An investigation found the insurance company was slow to investigate and underpaid claims from…
State Farm May Lose Its California License. Here’s What That Means for Homeowners
State Farm May Lose Its California License. Here’s What That Means for Homeowners

California is pursuing historic legal action against its largest home insurer, but for wildfire survivors still waiting on claims, the question is whether that means relief In the aftermath of Los Angeles’ devastating 2025 wildfire season, California regulators have taken their most aggressive action yet…
Governor Polis Announces New Tool to Help Coloradans Navigate Life After Disaster
Governor Polis Announces New Tool to Help Coloradans Navigate Life After Disaster

DENVER – Today, Governor Polis announced the new Colorado Disaster Recovery Navigation Tool to help Coloradans navigate recovery and rebuild after natural disasters. This new tool provides a step-by-step guide for what to do in the aftermath, immediate and long-term, of a natural disaster. “Coloradans…
State Farm under fire for hundreds of violations — but experts say Californians won’t lose coverage
State Farm under fire for hundreds of violations — but experts say Californians won’t lose coverage

Regulators want State Farm barred from writing new policies for a year for allegedly violating state law after the Los Angeles wildfires — but experts say current customers shouldn’t panic. “Auto insurance and home insurance contracts are one year contracts, and they commenced at different…
State Farm fined by California regulators over wildfire claim violations
State Farm fined by California regulators over wildfire claim violations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Department of Insurance has sanctioned and fined State Farm, the largest home insurer in both the state and the nation, for 432 violations of the Unfair Insurance Claims Practices Act and other laws. Claims stem from California wildfires What we…
Maui Fire Lawsuit Payouts Are Near. Few Survivors Will Break Even
Maui Fire Lawsuit Payouts Are Near. Few Survivors Will Break Even

Leslie Clark isn’t counting on money from the Maui wildfire settlement to help rebuild her family home near Front Street in Lahaina. Worrying about something out of her control “is not good for your health,” said Clark, 62, who lost her home in the August…
United Policyholders’ One-Year Los Angeles Fire Survey & the Kind of Advocacy Policyholders Deserve
United Policyholders’ One-Year Los Angeles Fire Survey & the Kind of Advocacy Policyholders Deserve

There are very few organizations in the insurance world that have earned the level of trust and respect United Policyholders has. United Policyholders (UP) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded in 1991 after a Northern California wildfire exposed just how devastating underinsurance and adversarial claims handling…
United Policyholders LA Wildfires Year One Survey Report
United Policyholders LA Wildfires Year One Survey Report

Full report and survey data Significant Findings: A substantial number, 69%, of households report being underinsured by an average amount of $247 per square foot. The dollar amount is a significant increase from underinsurance data we have collected from previous wildfires recovery surveys. Common claim problems continue…
Legislature considers bills to address home insurance issues following disasters
Legislature considers bills to address home insurance issues following disasters

Bhejay Yadao’s family had just finished converting their garage in their Lahaina home to a one-bedroom unit for their elderly grandparents. His family had used their savings to complete the project on Aug. 6, 2023. “They spent the night and the day just enjoying their…
Final event in Middle Colorado Watershed Council’s Fire and Water Speaker Series, ‘Firewise Futures,’ comes to Rifle’s Ute Theater
Final event in Middle Colorado Watershed Council’s Fire and Water Speaker Series, ‘Firewise Futures,’ comes to Rifle’s Ute Theater

As summer approaches, preparing for peak fire season is a priority for many Coloradans who witnessed the effects of the state’s fifth largest wildfire, the Lee Fire, near Meeker last year. The final installment of the Middle Colorado Watershed Council’s Fire and Water Speaker Series,…
California Assemblymember John Harabedian Announces Extension of the Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for Wildfire Survivors Passes Assembly Insurance Committee
California Assemblymember John Harabedian Announces Extension of the Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for Wildfire Survivors Passes Assembly Insurance Committee

On Tuesday, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) announced that AB 2038, which would provide wildfire survivors greater protections from insurance companies’ nonrenewals by extending the period insurance companies must renew existing policies, has passed the Assembly Committee on Insurance. In January 2025, the Eaton and Palisades…
Your House Survived the Fire — Now Mold Could Be the Second Wave of Damage Your Insurance Can Cover
Your House Survived the Fire — Now Mold Could Be the Second Wave of Damage Your Insurance Can Cover

You picture a house fire and you think of smoke, flames, charred walls. What most homeowners don’t picture — until it happens to them — is the water. Thousands of gallons of it, soaked into every wall, floor, and ceiling while firefighters did their job.…
Bill to Extend Insurance Moratorium for Eaton Fire Survivors Clears Assembly Committee
Bill to Extend Insurance Moratorium for Eaton Fire Survivors Clears Assembly Committee

A bill authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) that would give wildfire survivors in Altadena and other fire-affected areas more time before insurers can drop their coverage passed the Assembly Committee on Insurance this week. AB 2038, jointly authored by Harabedian and Assemblymember Rick Chavez…
California Faces $36 Billion Price Tag to Build Durable Wildfire Catastrophe Fund, State Study Finds
California Faces $36 Billion Price Tag to Build Durable Wildfire Catastrophe Fund, State Study Finds

California would need approximately $36 billion to build a wildfire fund durable enough to last 20 years with a 75% probability of solvency, which is more than double the commitment made in 2025, according to a report submitted to the governor and Legislature by the…
Who Controls Your Home Insurance? A High-Stakes California Race Could Decide
Who Controls Your Home Insurance? A High-Stakes California Race Could Decide

Few statewide elections stand to matter more this year than the race for insurance commissioner — the primary official tasked with stemming a wildfire-stoked home insurance crisis that has sent rates soaring across California. The insurance commissioner leads the state agency that approves rate hikes…
California insurance commissioner defends bill in face of strong opposition
California insurance commissioner defends bill in face of strong opposition

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday defended a bill that would make broad changes to insurance coverage after a home is destroyed in a wildfire or other disaster, which is facing stiff opposition from industry lobbyists. “Do you really think I would once again…
After the Los Angeles Wildfires, 80% Of Victims Report Serious Insurance Claim Issues
After the Los Angeles Wildfires, 80% Of Victims Report Serious Insurance Claim Issues

When a wildfire destroys a home, most people assume insurance becomes the safety net that keeps recovery moving. In Los Angeles County after the January 2025 fires, many survivors found the opposite. A year later, large numbers were still displaced, still arguing with carriers, and…