Commissioner Lara to Host Virtual Insurance Claims Town Hall

Obedoza With CA Department of Insurance Community Relations and Outreach Branch Presents on “Sustainable Insurance Strategies”

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will host a Los Angeles County Virtual Insurance Claims Town Hall on Tuesday, April 22, at 5 p.m.

“Join Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and experts from the Department of Insurance for a Virtual Insurance Claims Town Hall,” read a flyer for the meeting. “This informative webinar will offer valuable insights into insurance policies, the claims process and the resources available to Californians.”

Those who would like to attend are invited to RSVP. Anyone with questions regarding insurance are invited to visit insurance.ca.gov or call 800-927-4357.

Rob Obedoza of the CA Department of Insurance Community Relations and Outreach Branch presented on “Sustainable Insurance Strategies” during Mayor Karen Bass’ most recent virtual town hall on the evening of Tuesday, April 15—noting there remains a “lot of questions” from homeowners about the insurance market in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires.

“We’ve heard a lot of concerns about … once [the] rebuild is complete … what is the insurance market going to look like and what insurance options are going to be available?” Obedoza said.

He explained that an insurance moratorium is in place for all homeowners in the affected areas as well as the adjacent zip codes, protecting residential policies from cancellation or non-renewal for one year (set to expire January 6, 2026). Homes that suffered a “total loss” are guaranteed two annual renewal periods, Obedoza said.

Obedoza also spoke on regulatory reforms, which were finalized in December 2024, including “insurer commitments to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas,” “new climate risk management tools in ratemaking,” a “modernization of the California FAIR plan” and “improved rate application approval process.”

The presentation included proposed legislation, including The California Safe Homes Act, which “establishes a grant program for wildfire home mitigation,” and The Business Insurance Protection Act, which “expands [the] insurance moratorium to businesses, HOAs and nonprofits.”

Other legislation, Obedoza explained, includes the Eliminate “The List” Act, authored by Senator Ben Allen.

“This bill is been something that’s been discussed a lot in these town halls, as a lot of consumers are facing challenges from their insurance companies requiring them to provide an itemized list of all their lost belongings in order to collect their insurance benefits,” Obedoza explained. “The passing of this Senate Bill would eliminate that list and require insurance companies to pay out 100% of contents coverage without requiring that itemized list.”

Obedoza encouraged “everyone to register” for the upcoming insurance claims town hall, as they will be “addressing some of the issues that many … have been facing with … insurance companies so far.” They will also provide “guidance on the claims process going forward as the debris continues to clear and rebuilding proceeds.”

“We’ve been seeing a lot of issues that a lot of people have been facing with regards to smoke damage, remediation, living expenses and so forth,” Obedoza said. “As rebuilding continues, there’s going to be a whole host of issues, and we want to guide you through that process as well.”