Austin Beutner, the former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and one-time Los Angeles mayoral candidate, is suing his insurance company, alleging the insurer has not done enough to properly repair his home after the 2025 Palisades Fire.

While Beutner said the lawsuit is not just about money, he said his home is still not safe to enter. The property has sustained extensive smoke damage, and tests have revealed elevated levels of several toxic metals, according to Beutner.

“What you see today is a house that looks OK, filled with silent killers,” the Palisades resident said while giving NBCLA a look inside his home.

He said the only way he can safely enter his home is while wearing a respirator.

NBCLA captured images from inside Beutner’s Palisades home, where remnants of the Palisades Fire, including dirt, soot and ash, remain.

To determine what may have made its way into the home through the ventilation system, Beutner said he asked his insurance company, Chubb, to test for contaminants.

“Well, it turns out (Chubb) didn’t test for everything,” said Beutner, who eventually hired a private contractor to conduct additional tests. Those tests revealed elevated levels of several toxic metals, including arsenic, lithium, zinc and lead, according to Beutner.

“We have levels about 9,500 micrograms per square foot. California deems a level that is safe at 10, so we’re 950, almost 1,000 times a safe level,” he said. “Our house today is a toxic waste dump.”

Beutner said his insurance company was only willing to remediate half of the rooms, even though all of the rooms tested positive for the toxic metals.

“Most recently, Chubb told us, ‘OK, here. Yes, we’ve seen your qualified contractor’s estimates of costs. We’ll give you less than 25% of that to cover,'” Beutner said.

Beutner said the insurer should cover 100% of the damage, which is why he sued Bankers Standard Insurance, a Chubb subsidiary, this week.

“We have to fix the whole house. We have to get rid of all the toxins, not just half the rooms that they choose,” Beutner said.

NBCLA reached out to Chubb but did not hear back as of Tuesday afternoon.

Beutner said he hopes the lawsuit will prompt Chubb to reconsider and pay for 100% of the damage so he and his family can move back into their Palisades home.

Otherwise, he said, he will meet the insurer at a downtown courthouse and let a jury make the final call.

In California, insurance customers only have two years to file a lawsuit against their insurers follow a natural disaster. That deadline is coming in January for fire survivors in Los Angeles.