The Eaton fire survivors met Thursday morning in Pasadena to condemn the mismanagement of the close farm of a slew of complaints by insured people who have suffered losses in the fire.
Speaking in front of the State Farm disaster claim tent on Boulevard Colorado, the group urged the Californian insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara to launch an official investigation into the insurance giant, alleging that a series of delayed and refused complaints left forest victims in disastrous financial positions and unable to return to content.
The demonstration occurs a week after State Farm presented its file for an emergency increases of 17% – down compared to an initial request of 22% to state officials in February – during an administrative hearing in Oakland.
State Farm said that the increase is necessary to “help stabilize the financial situation of State Farm General” and prevent the carrier from “more constraining” its ability to provide home insurance in California.
Last month, Lara approved the rate request on a “provisional” basis, pending the disconnection of an administrative judge.
Fire victims described the demand for a rate hiking and the last series of betrayals from State Farm on Thursday.
“The disaster began with Eaton’s fire, but for us, the real trauma began when we have made a smoke damage to the State Farm,” said Wendy Davis. The House of five bedrooms from Davis in Altadena is still covered with toxic and ash soot, 100 days after the forest fire.
Davis said that during the last three months, State Farm has “delayed, on stone and denied us the aid to which we are entitled to”, deploying an inexperienced expert after the other for the value of his property.
The representatives of State Farm did not respond to Times’ request Thursday for comments.
Davis said that society had also told him that its policy only covered ashes that exploded in his house, not the contained asbestos.
“Are we supposed to rub shoulders with ourselves wearing danger costumes and respirators?” Said Davis, an insurance lessee of 35 years old. “It would be laughable if it was not so cruel.”
Under California’s proposal 103, insurance companies seeking rates must prove that these increases are necessary before they can be approved.
According to Carmen Balber, Executive Director of Consumer Consumer Consumer Consumer Dog for consumer defense, State FARM has not complied with the legal standard for an increase in rates.
Balber declared in a press release that if the request from the State Farm was approved, this would establish a “dangerous precedent, allowing insurers bypassing consumers and changing costs on families in difficulty”.
In an interview, Balber said Lara had not done enough to “resist” insurance companies that threatened to withdraw from the state due to the cost increase.
State Farm would have presented more than 12,500 fire and fire -related fire and automobile complaints of January 7 and paid more than $ 3 billion to customers. The company projects total payments linked to forest fires of $ 7.9 billion, although its net losses are estimated at $ 600 million after reinsurance payments.
But Balber argued that the company is still taking advantage of California at high risk to leave the state.
Lara representatives did not respond to a request for comments on Thursday.
The victims of the Eaton fire said Thursday that they were in the limbo, maxting their credit cards and jump from one rental to another when they expect their complaints to be resolved.
Before Kelsey Szamet and his family glow their current rental in Pasadena, they had stays in three hotels and with two series of friends. Being constantly in motion, she said, was “destabilizing” for her two young girls.
“There are many great feelings, great emotional responses that are not typical for them,” said Szamet, adding that she herself has difficulty with “cellular exhaustion”.
Szamet said that she believed that the delays and refusal of the state farm were part of a deliberate effort to carry people until they stop asking for help completely.
But Shawna Dawson Beers, founder of the Beautiful Altadena Facebook Group of 10,000 members, said that the residents of Altadena remain determined to hold the responsible state farm and to make fire the relief they owed.
“We will continue to speak for our neighbors, for ourselves, for our community,” said Beers. “And we will not go quietly.”
California Daily Newspapers
