Garamendi, disaster survivor, experts call for accountability as insurance companies abandon California homeowners while reporting massive profits

Today, Congressman and former California State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi; Dr. Martin Weiss, founder of independent rating agency Weiss Ratings; and Elisa Jacobs Nixon, an impacted extreme weather survivor, discussed the escalating insurance crisis and the recently released Unlocking America’s Futures new report on California’s insurance crisis.

The new UAF report reveals how major insurance companies in California have stopped writing new policies and canceled more than 250,000 existing policies from 2020 to 2023 while claiming financial distress, even as the industry reports $164 billion in investment income.

Speakers discussed how insurance companies are systematically denying legitimate claims following the Los Angeles fires, including denying smoke damage claims despite state regulators explicitly stating such damage is covered. Meanwhile, premiums have skyrocketed since 2019, with State Farm alone obtaining a 17 percent rate increase in 2025 before immediately requesting an additional 11 percent increase, while other major insurers refuse to write new coverage entirely.

“The bottom line is that the current commissioner has failed his obligations to consumers and failed his obligations to hold insurance companies financially accountable,” Garamendi said. “For any wannabe insurance commissioners: I don’t want to talk to you until you prove to me you’ve got the guts and the courage to take on this industry, the biggest financial industry in America, and if you’re not willing to fight the fight for the consumers, then don’t bother asking me for any help in your campaign.”

“State Farm is minimizing the damage, challenging independent testing and reports, challenging our property claim recommendations for safe and effective remediation, conducting peer reviews of our reports, and delaying the process,” said Elisa Jacobs Nixon, survivor of the Eaton Fire of January 2025. “We are living in a daily, exhausting, adversarial process that has become a second full-time job for me, and this has deepened the trauma. We need our regulators and our insurance commissioner to be there to protect consumers, not the insurance companies.”

“The top priority for combating the insurance crisis is disclosure by the regulators and by the companies,” said Dr. Martin Weiss, founder of independent rating agency Weiss Ratings. “While Weiss Ratings can dig into official filings, we need data from the insurance industry and National Association of Insurance Commissioners on payment delays, non-renewals, and lawsuits. We need that data to give consumers the opportunity to vote with their dollars and reward the companies that deliver real benefits and punish the companies that deliver mostly pain. Disclosure is a no brainer. We need it now.”

“The insurance crisis is making California unaffordable for working families,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Insurance companies are pulling out of the state while simultaneously raising premiums and denying claims at rates we’ve never seen before while maximizing profits. This crisis isn’t just about climate, wildfire, extreme weather, or other risks – it’s been manufactured by insurance company greed and a system that lets them get away with it.”

The new UAF report reveals how major insurance companies in California have stopped writing many new policies and canceled more than 250,000 existing policies from 2020 to 2023 while claiming financial distress, even as the industry reports $164 billion in investment income.

Click here  to read the full UAF report and click here to read Weiss Ratings’s in-depth report on how insurers are using six tactics to stiff homeowners.