By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-09 20:28:48 | Updated at 2025-01-10 04:40:10
8 hours ago
Major insurance companies have provoked the ire of California homeowners - including Hollywood stars - after revoking fire coverage for tens of thousands of residents just months before devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, DailyMail.com can reveal.
'You are a pile of crap for cancelling insurance policies,' comedic actor Rob Schneider ranted against State Farm today. He is one of several stars, including James Wood, who are outraged by the cancellations.
More than 45 square miles and 1,300 structures have been destroyed in the LA area as of Thursday since five wildfires erupted across the region, causing an estimated $48billion in damage.
And hundreds of displaced residents now face multi-million dollar bills to clean up and rebuild their properties without any coverage at all.
In 2024 Liberty Mutual and State Farm, two of the largest insurers in the country, told nearly 50,000 homeowners in the Golden State – some of whom were in high risk areas – that their fire insurance would be terminated in a bid to prevent 'financial failure'.
At least 1,600 people in the affluent neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades – the hardest hit area of the fires – lost coverage when State Farm pulled out in April.
Furious residents are now publicly sounding off at insurance companies in the wake of the deadly blazes, with one local nurse slamming insurers for failing to renew the policy for her elderly parents.
'I know I'm not supposed to be here, but this is my parents' home. They just got canceled from their fire insurance,' Lynn Levin-Guzman, an ER nurse from Hastings Ranch, told ABC7 News on Wednesday.
'So they're dealing with this...They're 90 years old. They've lived in this house for 75 years. They've had the same insurance and these insurance people decided to cancel their fire (coverage) and we're going through this.'
More than 45 square miles and 1,300 structures have been destroyed in the LA area as of Thursday since five wildfires erupted in the region earlier in the week
Actor James Woods is among the celebrities who have lost their homes in the blaze and noted that many residents had lost their home fire insurance months earlier. Comedian Rob Schneider blasted State Farm for the move
She added: 'Thank you California insurance companies for supporting residents who pay taxes and love California. They wonder why people leave California.'
Video of the interview has since gone viral on social media, with numerous X users echoing the woman's outrage in the comments.
A-list stars and celebrities have also added to the furor on social media where they blasted insurance companies for allegedly leaving homeowners high and dry.
Rob Schneider voiced his outrage in an all-caps X post Wednesday saying: 'F#K YOU @StateFarm SCREW YOU AND ALL YOUR PHONEY COMMERCIALS!! YOU ARE A PILE OF CRAP FOR CANCELING INSURANCE POLICIES OF CALIFORNIANS! I WILL NEVER USE @StateFarm INSURANCE EVER AGAIN!'
State Farm is known for its commercials touting: 'Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.'
Actor James Woods, whose Pacific Palisades home was engulfed by flames and destroyed, also confirmed in a post that 'one of the major insurance companies canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago', an apparent reference to State Farm.
Other stars who have lost their homes include Billy Crystal, Eugene Levy, John Goodman and Paris Hilton.
However, many pointed the finger at lawmakers instead, blaming Governor Gavin Newsom and state regulators for restricting insurance rates in California.
An ABC7 interview with local Lynn Levin-Guzman, an ER nurse from Hastings Ranch, has gone viral after the woman revealed insurance company failed to renew her elderly parents' fire coverage before the disaster
Rob Schneider lashed out on State Farm in an expletive-laden X post for 'canceling insurance policies of Californians'
In another X post, James Wood revealed that major insurance companies had canceled fire insurance policies in his neighborhood just 'four months ago'
Replying to Schneider's post, user @PDjurisic said: 'Rob, I am not defending insurance companies by any means, but Newsom's one-party CA regulations were the real catalyst for the cancellations 4 months ago. Blame the cause, not the affect.'
Another user added: 'Love you, Rob, but why would an insurance company insure houses in an area that the state is mismanaging so badly the question of a catastrophic fire is not if but when? California officials have broken the social contract.'
The devastating fires, which have killed at least five and forced 130,000 people to evacuate, have also disrupted scheduled events such as the Critics Choice Awards and an upcoming NHL game between the LA Kings and Calgary Flames.
In an ironic twist, the NFL on Wednesday announced a contingency plan for the LA Rams' game against the Minnesota Vikings next week – revealing the game would be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, 'if necessary'.
Critics were quick to point out the irony, with user @Ralphamsden commenting: 'Imagine that you live in LA, are a Rams fan, and you lost your house in a fire that State Farm revoked your coverage for, and now you have to watch your team play this weekend in State Farm Stadium'.
The controversy adds to the mounting criticism of insurance companies which was put into the public spotlight when UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was assassinated in New York last month.
Suspected assassin, Luigi Mangione, 26, who has pleaded not guilty, had suffered severe back pain and wrote 'Deny, Depose, Defend' on the bullets he allegedly used to execute Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan.
Already people on social media are drawing parallels with the LA fires, and on X one person wrote: 'Luigi was right about everything.'
State Farm's decision in April affected 72,000 policies in California, 30,000 of which were homes.
Many of them were in upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles County including 1,600 in Pacific Palisades, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.
However, many pointed the finger at lawmakers instead, blaming Governor Gavin Newsom and state regulators for restricting insurance rates in California
In an ironic twist, the NFL on Wednesday also announced a contingency plan for the LA Rams' game against the Minnesota Vikings next week, revealing the game would be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, 'if necessary'
The report said that by share of homeowners, Pacific Palisades was 'hardest hit' out of anywhere in the state by the cancellations.
State Farm had already increased premiums by an average of 20 percent the previous year.
At the time of its decision in April last year, State Farm said it needed to 'maintain adequate claims-paying capacity for our customers and to comply with applicable financial solvency laws'.
The company added: 'It is necessary to take these actions now.'
Liberty Mutual's decision in August affected some 17,000 homes but it is unclear how many were in the LA area.
Oscar-nominated actor James Woods took to X with multiple posts detailing the damage as a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides was exacerbated by a fierce windstorm in Southern California
Woods, 77, broke down in tears as he described evacuating his home in Los Angeles
Local resident Jonathan Post, 73, pictured holding his dog Pluto, is among the evacuees taking shelter at the Pasadena Convention Center. He says he does not know if his home is still standing
At the time the company said it was not to do with fire risk and that it was 'retiring the antiquated technology it uses to manage the dwelling fire policies'.
A spokesman for State Farm told DailyMail.com: 'Our number one priority right now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees impacted by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy.'
A spokesman for Liberty Mutual said the policies that were not renewed were known as 'landlord policies' rather than regular dwelling fire insurance.
The company added that it was a 'very small product line' affecting less than 0.1 percent of its business in California.
Residents in high risk areas in California who cannot find insurance can get a policy through the state's FAIR Plan, which is effectively the insurer of last resort.
In 2020 it covered just three percent of residents but now it covers more than six percent, or 452,000 homes.
That means the state of California could be exposed to as much as $458billion in potential damage, according to Bloomberg.
In Pacific Palisades, FAIR policies cover $6billion worth of property which is far in excess of the $700million that the fund has available.
A house burns as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California
The move from State Farm Insurers came due to the growing frequency and severity of wildfires in the state
The remains of a house burned to the ground as a result of the Palisades wildfire in Pacific Palisades
Meanwhile, insurance company bosses have reaped massive pay with Timothy Sweeny, chief executive of Liberty Mutual, earning a total package of $15.4million last year.
Michael Tipsord, the former boss of State Farm, made $24.4million in 2023 before he stepped down last year.
On X, users voiced support for Levin-Guzman, the woman from Hastings Ranch, saying her story 'breaks my heart SO bad'.
The comment said: 'She's trying to keep her parents home from burning, because their home insurance canceled their FIRE PROTECTION. Huge shame on these insurance companies'.
