They thought they were the lucky ones. After the devastating Los Angeleswildfires destroyed more than 11,000 homes, theirs survived. But now, some of these homeowners say they were abandoned by the very safety net meant to protect them.
The state’s FAIR Plan, which “provides basic fire insurance coverage for high-risk properties when traditional insurance companies will not,” has ballooned 289% since September 2021 as private carriers retreat from the state.
But amid that explosive growth and in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the FAIR Plan is facing mounting allegations that it illegally denied smoke damage claims, leaving wildfire survivors with few options and little recourse.
The showdown
In late July, the Department of Insurance filed a formal legal action against the state’s FAIR Plan, accusing the insurer of “systematically denying and limiting smoke damage claims from wildfire survivors—particularly in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton Fires earlier this year.”…