Amid continued distress and anger with the slow response and processes following the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires, LA County has sued insurer State Farm 0ver what the County calls ‘unfair business practices’ in the handling of policyholders fire claims. The suit seeks “restitution and civil penalties”. In a press release, the County alleges that State Farm policyholders have endured:
- False advertising inducing them to purchase and rely on State Farm insurance;
- Unreasonable delays in investigation and processing of claims;
- Systematic underpayments of claims even where the rightful amount of the claim was clear;
- Frequent and improper reassignment of individual claim adjusters;
- Systematic barriers to policyholders’ ability to contact and communicate with adjusters;
- Refusal to provide due compensation for Additional Living Expenses (ALE);
- Misrepresentations during the claims process to discourage pursuit of claims; and
- Illegal suppression of smoke damage claims.
Supervisors Barger and Horvath are quoted in the press release, Horvath saying, “State Farm must live up to its commitment to be a ‘good neighbor’ and do right by its customers who have lost so much.”
The County notes that State Farm is the state’s largest private insurer. The suit declares, “County Counsel is empowered by statute to investigate, and to civilly prosecute violations of the Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law on behalf of the People of the State of California. The lawsuit seeks restitution to impacted State Farm policyholders, injunctive relief, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation.”
You can read the suit here and judge for yourself.
