One of California’s largest insurance companies canceled fire coverage for thousands of homeowners in the Pacific Palisades last summer in an effort to prevent “financial failure.”
State Farm Insurance said in 2023 it would stop accepting new insurance applications for homeowners in the Golden State.
Last year, the company said it would stop covering 72,000 homes in California.
The move by State Farm Insurers came due to the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in the state.
Historic wildfires have been raging through the upscale enclave of the Pacific Palisades since Tuesday and have since spread to surrounding suburbs as a storm carried embers and debris in all directions.
The death toll from the apocalyptic infernos has now reached five, as heroic firefighters continue to battle hellish conditions on the front lines of at least five different fires.
With the fires causing devastating losses to Pacific Palisades residents, many will have to rely on their insurance companies to repair the damage caused by the blaze as experts fear the damage could cost as much as $60 billion.
DailyMail.com has contacted State Farm for comment.
One of California’s largest insurance companies canceled fire coverage for thousands of homeowners in the Pacific Palisades last summer in an effort to avoid “financial failure”
State Farm Insurers said in 2023 it would stop accepting new insurance applications for homeowners in the Golden State
Last year, the company said it would stop covering 72,000 homes in California
A number of private insurers have reduced coverage in areas of California where there is a risk of wildfires, leaving homeowners behind.
Several insurance companies in the state have noted that increasing wildfire risk and government regulations have forced them to drop coverage, resulting in a crisis in the industry.
In the meantime, homeowners have had to look for other options that will give them protection in the event of a fire.
California’s FAIR Plan, an insurer of last resort, more than doubled its policies between 2020 and 2024 as a result.
The ongoing bushfire is on track to become the most devastating fire on record after destroying the glitzy celebrity mansion and causing an estimated $48 billion in damage.
The economic loss from the California fires could reach $52 billion to $58 billion, according to AccuWeather, with experts saying the damage from the deadly fires could become the most expensive in U.S. history.
LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley believes the fire started accidentally in a backyard around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The move by State Farm Insurers came due to the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in the state
Historic wildfires have been raging through the upscale enclave of the Pacific Palisades since Tuesday
The fire has since spread to surrounding suburbs as a storm carried embers and debris in all directions
The death toll from the apocalyptic infernos has now reached five
With the fires causing devastating losses to Pacific Palisades residents, many will have to rely on their insurance companies to repair the damage caused by the fire.
A number of private insurers have reduced coverage in areas of California where there is a risk of wildfires, leaving homeowners behind.
A fire-damaged Bank of America branch is seen after the Palisades fire destroyed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, January 8, 2025
She told reporters that the fire is “spreading at a rate beyond anything we’ve ever seen… it’s now unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes.”
The prospect of such a hellish firestorm was raised last summer by podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan, who recounted a chilling conversation he had with an LA firefighter.
Speaking to guest and fellow comedian Sam Morril on the July 2024 episode, Rogan shared, “He said, ‘One day it’ll just be the right wind and the fire will start in the right place and it’ll go all the way through L.A. burn. to the ocean and we can’t do anything about it.”
“If the wind blows the wrong way, it’ll just burn through LA,” he said.
The firefighter’s prediction, as told by Rogan, appears to be true: environmental conditions and unfavorable winds push the forest fire into an uncontrollable state.
Meanwhile, scientists at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have attributed the fire to a global pattern of what they call “hydroclimate whiplash”: rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather.
Experts say heavy rains from El Niño last year fueled vegetation growth in the Los Angeles area, which had since dried out and become highly flammable.
Once the flames ignited, SoCal was buffeted by “devil winds,” formally known as Santa Ana winds – warm and gusty northeasterly winds that blow from the region’s interior toward the coast, as opposed to the usual winds that blow from the Entering the Pacific Ocean and blowing cooler winds. more moist air inland.