The San Diego City Council is on track to sign off on a $6.3 million settlement that would reimburse insurance companies for claims tied to the January 2024 floods, a move that has many flood survivors fuming. The proposal would route money to carriers that covered storm-related damage, even as some residents are still couch surfing, living in hotels or waiting on long-delayed repairs. The brewing backlash has revived long-standing anger over deferred stormwater maintenance in the very neighborhoods that took the brunt of the storm.
Roughly $6,326,330.75 would be divided among 17 insurance carriers, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. A city memo reviewed by that outlet lists companies ranging from Palomar Specialty and Allied World to major names like Allstate and State Farm as recipients of the payouts. If the council approves the deal, city officials say the checks to insurers would be issued from the city’s own insurance reserves.
How the city would cover the checks
City staff say the settlement would be paid out of the municipal Public Liability Fund, the internal account the Risk Management Department uses to cover tort and property claims, according to City of San Diego Risk Management. Local county records and recent Board of Supervisors materials state that years of deferred maintenance and aging storm infrastructure increased the likelihood of catastrophic flooding, which, in turn, has complicated both residents’ recovery and reimbursement efforts.
Legal fallout and court calendar
Nearly 2,000 individual plaintiffs have now sued the city over damage from the Jan. 22, 2024, storm, and the cases have been consolidated with a trial set for later in 2026, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. In those lawsuits, residents argue the city failed to maintain key pieces of stormwater infrastructure and that those failures magnified the destruction in already vulnerable neighborhoods.
How the January storm set this in motion
The storms that pounded San Diego from Jan. 21–23, 2024, overwhelmed channels and drains across southeastern parts of the city and led to a presidential major disaster declaration (FEMA-4758-DR). In response, the state launched Disaster Unemployment Assistance and opened Local Assistance Centers to support displaced workers and households, according to the California Employment Development Department. Local coverage at the time reported hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed and detailed the rollout of resource centers where residents lined up to seek help and register for FEMA aid, as chronicled by East County Magazine.
Voices from the neighborhoods
Community advocates who organized in the wake of the floods say the city’s response has fallen short and have turned to the courts. “This was an act of man, not an act of God,” civil-rights leader Shane Harris said while announcing a class-action filing on behalf of flood survivors, as reported by East County Magazine. Residents and organizers continue to push for faster repairs to public infrastructure and direct compensation for families still struggling to rebuild…