LOS ANGELES () — Nearly a year and a half since the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, families are still battling their insurance companies.
On Thursday, the Every Fire Survivor’s Network announced its plans to go after State Farm, petitioning to join California in an effort to seek payouts families say they are still owed by the largest home insurer in the state.
“If granted, we’ll have the right to conduct discovery, present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, participate in settlement decisions, and advocate directly for the remedies that help survivors rebuild and return home,” said Every Fire Survivor’s Network Executive Director Joy Chen.
Last month, California’s Department of Insurance accused State Farm of violating the law in its handling of claims.
“I have a full-time job, but after the fire, dealing with State Farm became a second full-time job, trying to remember every single thing we owned while my heart was breaking,” said Palisades Fire victim Marjan Rajabi. “It meant handling endless calls, paperwork, and meetings. I’ve had State Farm insurance since the day I bought my house 23 years ago. They were always wonderful with my auto insurance-kind agents, no problems. I never filed a single claim on my house in 23 years, but after the fire, everything changed. The inventory list alone was heartbreaking and overwhelming.”
“It was emotionally exhausting,” she continued. “Then having State Farm debate me on the value of all my things, many of which I can never buy back-like my family photos or the gifts that my children gave me. I’ve been through seven different adjusters. Each new person meant starting over-more confusion, more delays. It felt like bureaucracy was more important than actually helping us. The process became a second trauma.”
In a statement, State Farm said, “We are aware of the petition. We recognize that many wildfire survivors, including those who are State Farm General policyholders, continue to face difficult recovery challenges. Our focus remains on helping customers recover. State Farm General has paid more than $5.9 billion for Eaton and Palisades wildfire claims and remains committed to supporting customers as they rebuild and recover.”
Every Fire Survivor’s Network is comprised of Eaton and Palisades fire victims.
“The delays, opaque calculations, and antiquated systems appear to be designed to confuse and wear out customers like me so that we give up and settle for less,” said Palisades Fire victim Diane Brigham. “Like death by a thousand paper cuts, what began as seemingly minor bureaucratic hurdles has become a new disaster for us-uncertainty about how much money we actually have available to rebuild.”
“State Farm is a very powerful multibillion-dollar company,” said Chen. “When it’s just any one of us against this huge machine, it’s really difficult for us to get fair outcomes in our claims.”
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