A few of the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires in January are asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for the resignation of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara over reforms Lara pushed that were designed to help ease the state\u2019s homeowners insurance crisis.<\/p>\n
The calls for Lara\u2019s resignation follow a New York Times article<\/a> an agreement between Lara and several insurers, intended to keep carriers from continuing to withdraw from the wildfire-prone state, enabled carriers to drop tens of thousands of policyholders ahead of the L.A. fires.<\/p>\n Related: The LA Fires Destroyed 11,000 Homes. Less Than 10% Have Permits to Rebuild<\/a><\/p>\n According to the New York Times article, in 2023 Lara struck a deal with insurers that enabled them to drop policyholders in exchange for future rate hikes, but it was billed as a way to keep people out of the California FAIR Plan.<\/p>\n During a press conference being promoted by a consumer advocate group, wildfire victims talked about losing coverage and called on Newsom to ask Lara to resign.<\/p>\n Branislav Kecman, whose home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, said his family paid premiums to State Farm for 12 years before being dropped and forced into the FAIR Plan months before the fire. Kecman\u2019s coverage in the new plan was less than what he had before.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was painful enough,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what\u2019s truly devastating is learning that our own Insurance Commissioner secretly cut a deal that encouraged insurers to drop families like ours. We thought we could trust the system. We never imagined we\u2019d be betrayed by the very person elected to protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Viewpoint: Delay, Deny, Defend for California Wildfire Claims?<\/a><\/p>\n A Pacific Palisades resident who lost her home in the fire that devastated that community said that what she was dropped by her carrier of 25 years.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the real disaster was the endless maze of delays and denials,\u201d stated resident Jill Spivack. \u201cI had to put my business on hold just to fight for what we\u2019d already paid for. Gov. Newsom, your words gave us hope. Now we need your actions to make that hope real. Californians deserve an insurance commissioner who protects families, not the insurers doing the most harm.\u201d<\/p>\n The California Department of Insurance has been reached out to for comment. The American Property Casualty Insurers Association has also been reached out to for comment.<\/p>\n Related: Most Losses in Destructive Eaton Fire Tied to Conflagration Hazard, Report Shows<\/a><\/p>\n The New York Times article, which examines the \u201chistoric\u201d compromise to reward insurers with higher rates in exchange for protecting homeowners in neighborhoods that were in greater risk from wildfires, found that a \u201cloopholes quietly negotiated by the insurance industry all but eliminated that guarantee\u201d that insurers would continue to cover risky areas of the state.<\/p>\n \u201cVast swaths of the designated areas where insurers must write new policies do not in fact overlap with areas that California\u2019s state fire marshal deems to be the most fire-prone, the investigation found, meaning that insurers can load up on coverage in areas the state considers to be safer and still qualify to charge higher rates,\u201d the article states. \u201cAs a result, insurance companies will be able to raise rates and offload billions of dollars in costs and liabilities to ratepayers while taking on few, if any, new customers in high fire-risk areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said Lara\u2019s deal essentially made him the \u201cindustry\u2019s business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCommissioner Lara\u2019s deal with insurers gave them a reason to abandon California families and double the size of the FAIR Plan. Despite Lara\u2019s promises, insurance companies will get big rate hikes but don\u2019t have to sell a single new policy in wildfire-risk areas,\u201d Balber stated. \u201cGovernor Newsom must step in and appoint a commissioner who will stand up to the insurance industry, enforce the law, and get consumers the benefits they\u2019ve paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Topics Interested in Catastrophe?<\/p>\n Get automatic alerts for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few of the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires in January are asking California Gov. 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\n Catastrophe<\/a>
\n Natural Disasters<\/a>
\n California<\/a>
\n Wildfire<\/a>
\n Louisiana<\/a>\n <\/p>\n