From CalMatters economic system reporter Levi Sumagagsay:
Insurance coverage corporations have paid out $4.2 billion in claims to date to survivors of the Los Angeles County fires, the state Insurance coverage Division stated Thursday.
That determine consists of dwelling, enterprise, residing bills and different disaster-related claims associated to the Eaton and Palisades fires, the division stated, citing knowledge from insurance coverage corporations and the FAIR Plan, which is a pool of insurers that provides hearth insurance coverage to prospects who can’t get it elsewhere as a result of some corporations have paused writing or canceled insurance coverage insurance policies in sure high-risk areas.
Affected property house owners have filed 31,210 claims — 14,417 of which have been partially paid, the division stated.
A part of the purpose of letting the general public know how a lot has been paid out to date is so that they know that below the regulation, claimants are eligible for some advance funds with out having to file itemized claims, spokesperson Michael Soller stated. For some individuals, it could possibly be “life-changing to know that they know they can get money up front,” he added.
Insurance coverage corporations have been current at workshops held by the Insurance coverage Division for hearth victims in Santa Monica and Altadena over the previous couple of weeks, Insurance coverage Commissioner Ricardo Lara instructed CalMatters lately. “People were walking out of these workshops with checks in hand,” he stated.
Amy Bach, government director of the patron advocacy nonprofit United Policyholders, stated her group has been fielding questions and considerations from varied FAIR Plan prospects who report each good and poor declare companies. “It really depends on the quality of the adjuster that gets assigned and how overloaded they are,” she stated.
Cal Hearth has designated the Eaton and Palisades fires, each of which began Jan. 7 and are virtually absolutely contained, because the second and third most damaging wildfires in state historical past, behind the Camp Hearth in Butte County in 2018, which killed 85 individuals and destroyed almost 19,000 constructions.
The Eaton hearth within the Pasadena space killed 17 individuals and destroyed greater than 9,400 constructions, and the Palisades hearth within the Pacific Palisades killed 12 individuals and destroyed greater than 6,800 constructions.
