If you own a home that suffered smoke damage from a wildfire, don’t be surprised if your insurance coverage falls short — or is denied.
A new report from Consumer Watchdog alleges that insurers have inserted provisions into the fine print of their home, condo and renters policies that allow them to limit or deny coverage after a wildfire.
Farmers, Nationwide and the Automobile Club of Southern California are among the insurers cited in the Los Angeles-based organization’s “Up in Smoke” report. The California FAIR Plan — which often serves as a last resort for homeowners in fire-prone areas where insurance companies won’t provide coverage — is using the same tactics, the study claims.
The report says insurance companies are lowballing or denying claims as California’s wildfire season grows longer and becomes more damaging. The state’s three most destructive years on record were 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has scheduled a public hearing on the FAIR Plan at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 13 in Oakland.
In a fact sheet released Tuesday, the California Department of Insurance said the report “contains demonstrably false claims” and that Lara and the department use “every legal and regulatory tool available,” to hold insurance companies accountable for their actions.
The fact sheet added that 20 insurers deleted illegal smoke-limit policy provisions in 2018 after being notified by the department. It further noted that an examination of Nationwide resulted...
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