The fires were also followed by rate requests as the state’s insurance com
missioner scrambled to offer quick rate hikes to get insurers to stay.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in March provisionally approved State Farm’s request for a 22% interim homeown
ers insurance rate hike. State Farm is the largest homeowners insurer in California.
In a statement, State Farm said, “It’s time for certainty in the California insurance market for our customers. The provisional natur
e of today’s decision does not improve that certainty but it’s a step in the right
direction. We are moving forward with implementing this provisionally approv
ed rate and will continue to work with the California Department of Insurance for a sustainable future for the California insurance market.”
The carrier wasn’t done asking for rate. And a report from a climate activi
st group says State Farm’s rate increases, if approved, would cost the average California homeowner more than $1,000.
State Farm upped its rate request in May, a week after getting the OK for a
large rate hike to what the company had originally wanted before being rejected and agreeing to an interim deal for an increase.
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The wildfire-bitten insurer got approval for a 17% rate increase following bi
llions of dollars in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires and pullback on writing new policies in the state.
Homeowners Suing USAA and AAA Insurers Over LA Wildfires
Some homeowners who lost their homes in the L.A. wildfires filed lawsui
ts in June against three large carriers over claims payouts they say didn’t cover their losses.
The lawsuits, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, say USAA and two AAA affiliated insurers underestimated the r
eplacement cost of their homes and left them underinsured and without enough money to replace or rebuild their homes after the Jan. 7 wildfires.
The lawsuits allege fraud and negligence, and they seek unspecified damages.
Lawsuits against carriers and others over the wildfires have been piling up. A communications contractor for Los Angeles County
was blamed in a lawsuit in November for 18 deaths in the Eaton Wildfire over its alleged failure to evacuate residents in the path of the inferno.