State Farm Sued by LA County for Delays, Denials to Fire Victims
Los Angeles County sued State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, for alleged delays, denials and underpayments of property damage claims filed by victims of the massive January 2025 wildfires.
Monday’s lawsuit, following a county investigation, alleges State Farm withheld money from policyholders in a variety of ways that violated contract terms. The county said in a statement that the company failed to cooperate with the probe launched in November, refused to provide requested documents in response to a subpoena, and made clear it was not interested in resolving the concerns raised on behalf of wildfire victim.
Related: California Taking Action Against State Farm Over LA Wildfire Claims
The Eaton and Palisades fires killed 31 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures and caused approximately $40 billion in insured losses.
“We tried this the nice way,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose western Los Angeles County district includes the area of the Palisades Fire, said during a press conference. “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 insurance firm disputed the allegations.
“State Farm General strongly disagrees with Los Angeles County’s characterization of our wildfire claims response,” Bob Devereux, a spokesperson, said in an email Monday. “We will review the lawsuit and respond through the appropriate legal process. Wildfire survivors deserve support, clear answers, and a fair claims process.”
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Illinois-based State Farm General Insurance Co. and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., doesn’t specify a total amount it seeks in compensation, restitution and penalties.
Related: State Farm Must Give Up Trade Secrets in Claims Lawsuits, but Under Court Review
“It’s going to be a lot of money,” said Scott Kuhn, assistant county counsel.
The firm has paid more than $6.2 billion on claims since the fires, including $1 billion for smoke-related damage, and has closed about 78% of claims, Devereux said.
State Farm Mutual ended 2025 with $170 billion in net assets — $24.8 billion more than a year earlier, according to the suit. State Farm General also received California’s first emergency homeowners’ insurance rate increase — an average of 17% — after the fire.
State Farm has more than 2.8 million residential and commercial policies in California and had the most policyholders impacted by last year’s disasters, having processed 13,700 fire-related claims.
Top photo: A State Farm insurance office in Pinole, California. Bloomberg.