By Driss El-Hassan
Prior to the Palisades and Eaton fires in Southern California, over 1,600 insurance policies in these neighborhoods were dropped by State Farm as far back as July, 2024. CBS News San Francisco also discovered that State Farm dropped over 2,000 policies in multiple other regions in LA including Monte Nido, Brentwood, Hidden Hills, and Calabasas.
The State Farm firm is not alone. According to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis of insurance data, more than 100,000 Californians have lost their insurance since 2019 across multiple other major insurers such as Allstate and Farmers Insurance.
Needless to say, this puts Californian homeowners in a rough spot. Many are forced to enroll in the Californian Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan, or completely abandon homeowners insurance altogether. The FAIR Plan provides basic coverage for homeowners insurance in high-risk areas when private insurers will not.
Promptly, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals of insurance in the affected areas as of January 9th. The moratorium is supposed to last until January 7th, 2026.
Nonetheless, the Palisades and Eaton fires have so far decimated over 10,000 homes, with many left with no support from the State or private insurers in the midst of what could be the most devastating climate disaster in American history.
