Wildfire Survivors Get a Lifeline as California Pushes for Full Coverage Payments
Wildfire Survivors Get a Lifeline as California Pushes for Full Coverage Payments

California Insurance Commissioner Calls on Insurers to Ease Wildfire Survivors’ Burdens A Compassionate Plea for Full Coverage Without Detailed Inventories California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is taking a strong stance to support survivors of recent wildfires in Southern California. Recognizing the emotional and logistical toll…
Higher rates, few options for Calif. home insurance
Higher rates, few options for Calif. home insurance

Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer advocacy group. Insurers pulled back from California after severe wildfires in … Read more
Inequity seen after wildfires in California
Inequity seen after wildfires in California

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
For most LA fire victims, insurance won’t cover rebuild
For most LA fire victims, insurance won’t cover rebuild

“we fully expect it to be higher than two-thirds underinsured in la,” said amy Bach, the cofounder of United Policyholders, a public interest advocacy … Read more
Major insurance company sparks outrage with decision that affects thousands of policies: ‘The opposite of what we’ve been hoping for’
Major insurance company sparks outrage with decision that affects thousands of policies: ‘The opposite of what we’ve been hoping for’

Increasing frequencies of wildfires are pushing insurance companies out of California. Liberty Mutual is one of the latest insurance groups to abandon insurance coverage for California residents, the North Bay Business Journal reported. What’s happening? In late December, Liberty Mutual announced plans to roll back…
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck

State Farm’s request for an emergency home insurance rate hike on Tuesday was one of many troubling signs for California’s home insurance market. Now, 7 on Your Side Investigates has data showing how traditional residential and fire policies are becoming out of reach for many…
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
State Farm Seeks Emergency Rate Hike in California After LA Fires
State Farm Seeks Emergency Rate Hike in California After LA Fires

State Farm is asking California regulators to approve a significant emergency rate hike, saying it is needed to avert a “dire situation for our customers and the insurance market in the state” accelerated by the disastrous wildfires across Southern California. The company, California’s largest insurance group,…
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires

Two United States representatives from California proposed a new bill Jan. 16 that would reassess home insurance coverage in areas with high wildfire risk. The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act, reintroduced by Representatives Maxine Waters and Brad Sherman, would ask the Government Accountability Office to…
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
Short and long term impacts of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires
Short and long term impacts of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires

The devastation in Los Angeles is horrific for the impacted home and business owners and a tragically relatable scenario for North Bay residents. This region knows all too well how quickly wildfires can destroy lives and homes, and how fierce winds impair firefighters. Sonoma and…
How the fires will change CA’s insurance industry
How the fires will change CA’s insurance industry

From what to do if your home burned, to what to expect on your next insurance bill even if it didn’t, a consumer advocate answers urgent coverage questions. Credits Guest: Amy Bach – founder and executive director of United Policyholders Host: Madeleine Brand Producers: Sarah…
Some L.A. fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says
Some L.A. fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says

Some policyholders who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are not getting claims advances that are due to them, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alleged Thursday. In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered…
Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors
Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors

For Release: January 23, 2025 Media Calls Only: 916-492-3566 Email Inquiries: cdipress@insurance.ca.gov   Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors Bulletin includes additional actions insurers must take to aid policyholders’ LOS ANGELES — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo…