Los Angeles fire survivors still waiting for insurance companies One year after the Los Angeles fires, survivors are still waiting for insurance companies and can’t return home

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A year after the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles County, California’s property insurance market remains troubled; survivors sue insurers for delayed or denied claims; and most of the state’s policyholders are likely to see premium increases.

Seven out of 10 survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires have yet to return to their homes, some in part because of delays in insurance benefits, according to a new study released by the Los Angeles County Department of Homeland Security, a nonprofit organization formed in the wake of the fires.

The survey also found that 4 in 10 policyholders experienced insurance problems, such as significant premium increases and coverage cancellations, even though state law placed a one-year moratorium on insurers canceling or not renewing their customers’ policies after the governor declared a state of emergency. Those with homes that didn’t burn down but are still standing are especially likely to see big increases in their premiums, according to the survey of 2,443 adults conducted between Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, 2025.

Insurance premiums for everyone, not just fire survivors, were already expected to increase under new rules from Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. The commissioner, facing pressure to improve insurance availability in the state, implemented a plan last January that seeks to streamline rate reviews and allow insurers to use catastrophe and reinsurance cost models to set their rates. The plan went into effect a few days before the Los Angeles fires.

Now, the response to the fires could also lead to even higher insurance premiums overall, said Amy Bach, executive director of the consumer advocacy group United Policyholders.

“I advocate for disaster survivors, but also for the entire policyholder community,” Bach said. “For every delisting bill, for every improvement we make to prevent underinsured post-disaster injuries, there is a cost.” He added that these actions will have consequences for both the affordability and availability of insurance.

The project ” Delete a list o Delisting,” which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law last year, requires insurance companies to pay 60 percent of personal property coverage limits, up to $350,000, to policyholders who suffer a total loss without requiring them to submit a detailed inventory for at least 100 days.

Still, Bach knows these mandates are needed to improve the experience of fire survivors, and lawmakers are introducing new bills to address existing concerns. His own group published a study in November reporting complaints from policyholders, including delays in communicating with insurers, delays in paying claims and assigning multiple adjusters to a single case.

The Los Angeles department’s survey found that customers of State Farm and FAIR Plan (California’s two largest insurers) were most dissatisfied with their insurers’ response. The California Department of Insurance is investigation into State Farm’s fire response and has also taken legal action against the FAIR plan for its response, particularly on smoke damage claims. These insurers, along with other companies, have also faced lawsuits from their policyholders.

“Our customer feedback reflects a different experience than reported,” State Farm spokesman Tom Hartman said in an email. “We are supporting more than 13,500 customers affected by the wildfires, more than any other insurance company, and have already paid out more than $5 billion to help them recover.”

“We paid almost $200,000 out of pocket to repair our home because of FAIR Plan’s refusal to pay our claim,” said Angela Jacchetti, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Justice, which is cooperating with the study. She is also a fire survivor whose home in Altadena was not burned but was severely damaged.

“While we cannot comment on individual policyholder claims, the California FAIR Plan does not determine where they live,” said plan spokeswoman Hilary McLean. “The FAIR Plan assesses each claim on its own merits and pays all covered claims up to individual policy limits.”

The FAIR plan announced in a press release this week that it has processed nearly 5,400 claims and paid out nearly $3.5 billion to policyholders. It also indicated that it has taken steps to improve its ability to serve policyholders by obtaining a line of credit and reinsurance with the help of a $750 million catastrophe bond made possible by new law allowing the FAIR plan to obtain bond financing through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank.

The Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America says insurance companies have paid out $22.4 billion of the expected $40 billion in total claims from the Los Angeles fires.

The Los Angeles department’s study also found that 79 percent of survivors face financial hardship, with the majority of black, Asian, and Hispanic survivors falling behind on their rent or mortgage payments. Additionally, 40% of respondents expressed strong dissatisfaction with the local, state, and federal response to their needs.

Newsom said Tuesday that he is working with state lawmakers, the banking industry and others to make new recovery loans and that the state will expand eligibility for the CalAssist mortgage fund. The governor’s office did not respond to questions from CalMatters about whether it plans to offer assistance to tenants who survived the fires or what other steps it is taking to continue pushing the federal government for long-term disaster funding.

“This report reflects exactly what we’ve heard,” said Michael Soler, a spokesman for the insurance department. “Wildfire survivors want action and results.” He added that survey issues are a top priority for the department and, among other things, mentioned a smoke damage task force the department has convened.

A bill sponsored by Lara and introduced by newly appointed Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, on Tuesday night would require insurance companies to submit to the state their disaster recovery plans related to claims processing; doubling penalties for violations of fair claims practices during emergencies; extending payments for advance claims; provide policyholders with status updates within five days when their adjuster is changed; and more.