California’s FAIR Plan Accused of Wrongly Denying Wildfire Claims
San Jose Mercury News
(PLACERVILLE, CALIFORNIA) July 13, 2022 — … policyholders, consumer advocates and public officials are accusing California’s “insurer of last resort” of violating state law and failing to provide adequate coverage for homeowners across the state.
On Wednesday, the California Department of Insurance held a public “investigatory” hearing […]
… misreported $332 million deficit for last year.
At Wednesday’s hearing, public officials, advocates, insurance brokers and policyholders reiterated many of the same problems and asked the department to find ways to help bring down insurance premiums.
“Families across our state are already struggling under the exorbitant cost of housing,” said Wendy Thomas, a county supervisor in El Dorado County, which was devastated by the Caldor Fire last year. “And seniors on fixed incomes are finding it nearly impossible to have adequate insurance that they can actually afford. The alternative is to underinsure your property and pray you never use it.”
During the hearing, FAIR Plan officials declined to discuss “specific policy or claims questions or concerns,” citing ongoing legal action brought by some policyholders. […]
Consumer advocates say the FAIR Plan continues to deny fire smoke claims, despite the Department of Insurance demanding the program start covering smoke damage in a January 2021 letter to then-FAIR Plan President Anneliese Jivan. […]
Department of Insurance officials say they are continuing to work with the program to change the policy. They noted that 20 private insurers “deleted illegal smoke policy provisions” in 2018 after being notified by the agency, adding the department’s oversight led to $166 million being returned to consumers last year. […]