California Department of Insurance Hosts Virtual Town Hall

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

The California Department of Insurance and Commissioner Ricardo Lara hosted a Los Angeles County Virtual Wildfire Insurance Town Hall on Thursday, January 30.

Lara told attendees his focus has been to ensure wildfire survivors get the insurance benefits they are entitled to as soon as possible.

“All eyes are on the insurance companies, and I want all claims to be paid fully, fairly and quickly,” Lara said.

Insurance companies have been ordered to provide advance payments on insurance claims to speed up the process, according to Lara. At the time of the meeting, Lara said over 14,000 claims had been partially paid—amounting to $4.2 billion paid to wildfire survivors.

Additional actions in place include a one-year non-renewal moratorium for residential policies within or adjacent to wildfire perimeters; a request to all insurers to forego any pending residential policy non-renewals/cancellations received by homeowners before the fires started; and a request to all insurers to exceed a current 60-day grace period law for all affected policyholders to pay their home insurance premiums.

Lara also explained that, effective January 7, State Farm suspended non-renewals for homeowners and commercial policies of all its LA County customers, with pending non-renewals or cancellations.

“This pause of non-renewals and cancellations, we know, is a temporary band-aid, but it gives breathing room to survivors while they work on rebuilding their lives and recover from these devastating fires,” Lara said. “It is also representing another step forward in helping address the insurance availability crisis currently facing our state.”

Deputy Commissioner of Consumer Services Tony Cignarale then discussed the different stages of the claims process, including where individuals should begin.

Individuals should review their insurance policies and understand what they cover. Cignarale advised individuals to make their claims—and quickly.

“The sooner you file your claim, the sooner you get put into the queue … and go down the path of getting all your benefits paid,” he said.

Cignarale also advised individuals to track all living expenses for the duration they are displaced.

“Make sure you save all your receipts for everything: extra transportation, extra food costs … hotels, Airbnbs, whatever it may be,” he said, “and turn them in to your insurance company.”

Additionally, individuals should be documenting all conversations with their insurance companies or adjusters—including calls, emails and letters. Doing so will help keep a timeline of the claim.

Individuals should be wary of fraud, and cautious of people or companies offering quick settlements.

“Some precautions you can take is to verify credentials, check licenses of anyone you consider hiring, including public adjusters and contractors,” Department of Insurance Regional Supervising Investigator Amy Madrigal said during the meeting. “Read contracts carefully, and take your time to understand any fees and services included. Try to take your time. This is a very stressful event.”

Lara said future workshops and more town halls will be planned as the rebuilding process continues.

For more information, visit insurance.ca.gov. A complete recording of the town hall is available here.