State Farm says it has paid out almost $500mn in LA wildfire claims so far

By David Bull

Jan 28 - (The Insurer) - US insurance giant State Farm said that as of 27 January it had received more than 10,100 home and auto claims from the Los Angeles wildfires and has “already put almost half a billion dollars back into customers’ hands”.

The carrier – which is the biggest personal lines writer both in California and nationwide, based on 2023 data – said it has been able to bring the largest claims force in the industry to handle the fallout from the devastating wildfires which have been burning this month in the Golden State.

“We are bringing the full scale and force of our catastrophe response team to help customers recover – whether they are on the ground in LA or across the country,” said the insurer in a statement on its website.

“We are focused on our customers and helping them recover from the largest fire event we have ever experienced in the state,” it continued.

According to its website, in Los Angeles County the carrier insures 250,000 homes and 880,000 automobiles. Statewide it continues to insure more than one million homes and more than four million automobiles, with billions of dollars in risk exposure.

Earlier this month, State Farm updated on its decision to pause non-renewals for homeowners, rental dwelling, and residential community and association policies in force as of 7 January 2025, which extends to all of Los Angeles County.

“This decision reflects our commitment to supporting our customers and goes beyond the Department of Insurance's request.

“Our focus is on continuing to meet our customers’ needs and working closely with the State of California to create a sustainable insurance market. This is an evolving situation, and our focus remains on our customers,” said the insurer.

In March 2024, State Farm announced that it would drop approximately 30,000 property insurance policies and 42,000 commercial apartment policies in California following the company's 2023 decision to stop writing new business and personal property insurance in the state.

Of those, more than 7,600 were in the Palisades Fire zone, and over 525 more in San Gabriel Valley’s Eaton Fire zone, according to the Department of Insurance.