SACRAMENTO, California — A group of Los Angeles residents on Thursday sued California’s insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, for allegedly denying their smoke damage claims from January’s firestorms.
The law firms Kerley Schaffer LLP and Edelson PC filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of 10 plaintiffs from Altadena, Malibu and the Pacific Palisades. They argue that the FAIR Plan operated in bad faith and broke its contract by not fully investigating their claims of smoke damage or paying for repairs.
The FAIR Plan said in a statement that it could not comment on specific ongoing litigation but that it pays all covered smoke claims.
The FAIR Plan has come under criticism before for its customer service and incomplete coverage. As an insurer of last resort, its coverage is, by design, not as broad as that offered by traditional insurers. But it’s become the only resort for millions of Californians as other insurance companies flee the fire-prone state, and has seen the value of its insured properties triple since 2020.
