Insurance commissioner details strategy to stabilize market after Southern California wildfires; cites $12.1 billion in claims paid

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara told the Assembly Committee on Insurance on March 10, 2025, that the California Department of Insurance has taken immediate steps to protect wildfire survivors and is moving to implement a broader Sustainable Insurance Strategy to stabilize the state’s property insurance market.

Lara described several short-term consumer protections issued after the Southern California wildfires: orders encouraging insurers and the FAIR Plan to provide advanced claim payments, a one‑year moratorium on residential policy cancellations and nonrenewals in affected areas the department identified as encompassing more than 104 ZIP codes (which the department said represent about 924,000 policies), and expanded consumer assistance such as weekend insurance support workshops. “Insurance is not, is not just a financial tool. It is really a lifeline,” Lara told the committee.

Lara said his department’s enforcement and consumer-service teams have assisted more than 7,000 wildfire survivors directly and that, as of March 10, insurers had paid more than $12.1 billion on wildfire claims. He also said more than 37,000 claims have been filed…