As the first anniversary of the deadly California wildfires that killed at least 30 people and left thousands of homes and businesses destroyed approaches, fire victims have had obstacles to rebuilding their homes and lives thrown in front of them every step of the way. If it isn’t bureaucratic red tape in the form of things like obtaining building permits, it is incompetent politicians who prioritize their own political ambitions over their constituents. When a catastrophe like a fire strikes, most Americans turn to their insurance company for assistance with what can be a lengthy process. But what happens when the insurance company is one of those obstacles in the way?
🔥 The Republic of Newsom: burn California down, chase out home insurance companies, then roll out government fire insurance & jack up the rates by while calling it the “fair plan”
Welcome to Commiefornia. pic.twitter.com/9VodkqtJLa— Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) October 7, 2025
California’s insurance companies are now passing along added costs to consumers, a.k.a., fire victims, in the form of raising premiums, adding surcharges, and forcing them to subsidize losses suffered by the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan as a result of the fires. The Palisades and Eaton fires that happened in January of this year were some of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Now, in addition to State Farm, the largest insurer in the state, which will raise rates to account for higher risk, other insurers are implementing surcharges, and the California FAIR Plan, a plan that provides basic fire insurance to those who cannot obtain it elsewhere in the market, is being allowed to charge the customers of other insurers, who already subsidize the plan. The grand total of these additional surcharges to cover the system’s losses comes to around one billion dollars.
READ MORE: Gavin Newsom Tries to Take a Page Out of Trump’s Playbook, but Gets Ended by Palisades Fire Victim
The Los Angeles Times reported on this seemingly fuzzy math on Wednesday.
“Multiple insurers, including State Farm General, the largest in California, have received approval from the Department of Insurance to charge their customers for a portion of a $1-billion assessment they were hit with due to the financial problems of the state’s insurer of last resort. Surcharges that have been approved for some large insurers so far total more than $150 million, with the average surcharge for a standard homeowner’s policy (HO-3) around $50, depending on the carrier. The charge can be more or less according to the size of the premium and is split into monthly payments that can be spread over two years.”
Last month, QBE Insurance Corp. stopped writing new homeowners’ insurance policies in California. They are only one of several insurance companies who have cancelled all their policies and left California permanently. It is getting harder and harder to find insurance in CA. pic.twitter.com/Q9SgfR6zUo
— Sanadroug Hajian (@SanadrougH) September 6, 2025
It appears that State Farm customers will be hardest hit by rate hikes and surcharges. FAIR plan members were assessed by a pro-rated share of the overall state insurance market. State Farm came in with the largest assessment, totaling roughly $165 million, primarily in residential losses. The state is attempting to recover around $81.5 million for the FAIR Plan.
So, who do Californians have to thank for additional victimization? That would be California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. My colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell has reported extensively on the exploits of Lara, who is under investigation for questionable travel on the taxpayer’s dime and using an alleged campaign slush fund to pay for pricey dinners. Records also show that members of state insurance committees often traveled with Lara, making for some rather improper ties to the very people he is charged with regulating. Lara also has designs on the lieutenant governor’s office.
DIG DEEPER: CA Insurance Commish Ricardo Lara Bilked Taxpayers, Wrecked Insurance, Now Expects to Slide to Lt. Gov.
It’s bad enough that almost a year later, much of the Palisades is still a pile of rubble, and because of the political ambitions of Gavin Newsom and Ricardo Lara, it’s almost as if residents are watching their houses burn down all over again.
Well @GavinNewsom insurance companies should have never left or canceled home owners insurance in the first place so you are bragging about failure because you ARE a failure… Fact! https://t.co/st13APT6Dn
— Cartel California 🇺🇸 (@Cartel_Cal) October 9, 2025
The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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