Some Insurers Pledge to Ease Burden on L.A. Fire Victims, but Others Say No

Real Estate|Some Insurers Pledge to Ease Burden on L.A. Fire Victims, but Others Say No

A majority of insurance companies in California have agreed to pay at least 75 percent of the contents coverage for homes that were destroyed in the recent Los Angeles wildfires — and will do so without requiring homeowners to provide an inventory of every object that was inside.

The pledges are in response to a request last month by the state’s insurance regulator for companies to pay up to 100 percent of the coverage without requiring victims to submit a room-by-room, shelf-by-shelf and drawer-by-drawer list of objects lost in the flames. The regulator revealed the responses from more than 60 companies on Thursday.

Though many victims will now get some relief, State Farm, which insures more homes in California than any other company, was among the companies that declined the request.

“The fact that State farm will not pony up is a huge problem, because they have 20 percent of the market. That’s deeply problematic,” said Douglas Heller, the director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America.

In an emailed statement, State Farm spokesman Justin Tomczak wrote: “Advancing full policy limits with no inventory can lead to payments that exceed actual losses, raising the price of insurance for all California customers. State Farm handles contents inventory advances in accordance with California law.”

Other major national insurers, including Allstate Insurance Company, the Liberty Mutual Group and Travelers Group, also rejected the regulator’s appeal. Collectively, the companies that refused to pay without itemization insure over 39 percent of homes in California, according to data from the California Department of Insurance’s 2023 report on market share.