Dear Commissioner Lara,

We are survivors of the Eaton Fire and supporters standing with them.

Altadena is a working- and middle-class community that has long trusted insurance providers to show up when disaster strikes.

Many of us have been faithful State Farm policyholders for years, even decades. We paid our premiums believing that when crisis came, we would be protected. Instead, we’ve been met with delay, deflection and denial —pushing families to the brink of financial ruin, housing instability and emotional collapse.

State Farm’s failures, already reported to your office through Requests for Assistance, must weigh heavily as you consider the company’s latest rate increase request.

Here is what’s happening on the ground in Altadena:

• State Farm is instructing insured families to hand-wash soot-covered clothes and dishes — in homes filled with toxic ash, lead, and asbestos.

• State Farm is forcing parents to pay thousands out-of-pocket for rent, diapers, and basic necessities — with reimbursements delayed or denied.

• State Farm is requiring every survivor to itemize every lost sock and spoon to access their personal property benefits — while displaced, working full time, and caring for children.

• State Farm is leaving our homes exposed to the elements, without repair plans, even after environmental hazard reports flagged dangerous contamination. 

• State Farm’s conduct is causing serious physical symptoms and illnesses — directly linked to the stress and toll of their delays and denials.

These are not isolated incidents. This is a pattern. 

Now, while families turn to credit cards and crowdfunding to survive, State Farm executives are asking for another major rate hike.

Commissioner Lara, why should Californians pay more to a company that is failing to meet its obligations to wildfire survivors?

As the state’s top insurance regulator, your mandate is to protect the people of California — not to reward corporations that profit from delay, denial and harm. 

We urge you to:

• Conduct a Market Conduct Examination into State Farm’s handling of Eaton and Palisades Fire claims.

• Compel State Farm to expedite payments, provide interest or back pay where delays have caused financial harm, and take immediate action to resolve outstanding claims.

• Reject the requested rate increase request until the company demonstrates a clear, sustained commitment to honoring its contractual and ethical obligations to California families.

We stand ready to share our stories publicly and in testimony. No one should be sold a “good neighbor” promise — then be abandoned when it matters most.

We respectfully urge your office to act now.

Sincerely,

Eaton Fire Survivors & Supporters

Sign the Letter:
Urge Commissioner Lara to hold State Farm accountable.

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