Two smoke-damage bills awaiting the governor\u2019s signature address a longstanding issue brought to the fore by the Los Angeles County fires: When is it safe for wildfire survivors to move back into their homes?<\/p>\n
After the deadly January 2025 fires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures, the state Insurance Department estimates that more than 13,000 out of 40,000 claims involved smoke damage. <\/p>\n
The fires burned for nearly a month. Debris and emissions contained a mixture of trees, brush and manufactured materials made up of plastics, metals and more \u2014 raising concerns about toxic contents left in homes that are still standing but may be dangerous to live in. <\/p>\n
Many survivors with homes that did not burn down have yet to return to them 21 months later. Their homes reeked of smoke and they found ash, soot and char inside. They await test results for things such as lead and asbestos. They wait for homes to be repaired, cleaned up and cleared of toxic materials after months of back-and-forth with their insurance companies. Along the way, fire survivors, experts and insurers have all pointed to the lack of standards around smoke damage.<\/p>\n
Assembly Bill 1642<\/a> will set \u201ca first-in-the-nation standard for testing and remediation,\u201d said Assemblymember John Harabedian<\/a>, a Pasadena Democrat, about the bill he authored. Remediation is the removal of contaminants or hazards, and fixing possible ill effects. <\/p>\n The bill passed in conjunction with Assembly Bill 1795<\/a>, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson<\/a>, a Gardena Democrat. Gipson\u2019s legislation will incorporate the new standards and require insurance companies to abide by them. The governor has until the end of the month to sign both bills; one cannot become law without the other.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were hearing from survivors that they weren\u2019t getting a fair shake from their insurance companies,\u201d Harabedian told CalMatters. \u201cKudos to survivor groups that worked with us on this. We hope others don\u2019t have to go through what they went through.\u201d<\/p>\n The bills are just two of several pieces of legislation to come out of the Eaton and Palisades fires meant to set clearer standards, hold insurers accountable and improve the recovery process after a wildfire.<\/p>\n Smoke damage figures prominently in lawsuits and legal actions against two big insurers in California: State Farm<\/a>, which insures about 20% of the state\u2019s property insurance market, and the last-resort FAIR Plan<\/a>. The insurance department has accused both of delaying and denying smoke-damage claims. <\/p>\n Los Angeles County sued State Farm last week, alleging unfair business practices in its handling of claims from the 2025 fires. The lawsuit<\/a> cited the findings of the insurance department\u2019s investigation, including that the company denied or discouraged requests for environmental testing and refused to reimburse policyholders for testing they paid for themselves. Also among the allegations was that for standing homes, the company sent preferred restoration companies that typically \u201coffered an inadequate and unsafe cleaning method.\u201d<\/p>\n State Farm \u201cstrongly disagrees\u201d with the county lawsuit\u2019s characterization of the company\u2019s claims response, said spokesperson Sevag Sarkissian.<\/p>\n Standing but not move-in ready<\/p>\n Kareem Ali\u2019s Altadena home is one of the few left standing on his cul-de-sac, but he and his wife haven\u2019t been able to move back in. <\/p>\n Instead, they have been living in a donated RV on their property since August. <\/p>\n State Farm paid for them to live in other places from January 2025 until April of this year, when the insurer refused to reimburse them for rent at an $8,000-a-month one-bedroom that it had recommended to Ali. Ali quit paying rent then, and the rent for May, June and July is unpaid. <\/p>\n As for their smoke-damaged home, State Farm denied their request for environmental testing, so they paid $3,000 out of pocket for it. The insurer declined to reimburse them, and has since delayed and denied claims for cleanup. Some of the delays are because the insurer has assigned at least six or seven adjusters to their case, Ali said. <\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we got some sort of momentum on our claim, they\u2019d randomly switch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n So Ali said they spent the money that the company has given them so far for their personal belongings coverage. They hired contractors to clean, remove insulation and replace the carpet. When they told State Farm more repairs are needed but they ran out of money, the insurer denied their claim, he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, they\u2019ve continued to pay State Farm their monthly premiums. Ali said he asked their adjuster: \u201cWhat are we paying for if we\u2019re not going to get coverage?\u201d<\/p>\n Elisa Jacobs Nixon is in the same boat. She and her family haven\u2019t been able to move back into their Altadena home, either, primarily because of months of back-and-forth with State Farm about smoke-damage testing and cleanup. <\/p>\n The insurer initially ignored results of the May 2025 environmental testing she paid $6,000 for herself. So her public adjuster \u2014 a private insurance professional who handles claims on behalf of policyholders \u2014 advised her to get a contractor\u2019s bid for the work that needed to be done because of the findings. That worked. Within days, State Farm sent its own industrial hygienist, Nixon said. <\/p>\n Both the initial report and the one State Farm ordered had similar findings, including about high levels of contaminants. The most recent test also found asbestos. <\/p>\n Now, even though Nixon and her family remain displaced, things finally seem to be moving forward, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has completely hijacked my life, my kids\u2019 lives, it\u2019s just taken over everything,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cThat\u2019s why these parameters (in the bills) are so important. My hope is this will spread across the U.S. and help disaster survivors everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n What smoke-damage bills will do<\/p>\n Under Harabedian\u2019s bill, the Department of Toxic Substances Control would have to create standards for lead and asbestos testing, repair and removal by the end of 2028. By the end of 2029, it would have to establish similar standards for other contaminants, including heavy metals, cyanide and lithium. <\/p>\n Gipson\u2019s bill creates a legal presumption that if ash, soot, char or other combustion byproducts are in a standing home after a wildfire, then smoke damage in the property is the result of wildfire for insurance purposes. Also included in the bill: Insurers must inspect properties within 30 days of claims; would be responsible for the cost of testing needed to restore properties to their pre-loss conditions; and cannot stop paying additional living expenses until properties are restored.<\/p>\n The insurance industry remains \u201ctechnically opposed to the bills,\u201d said Karen Collins, a vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and a member of the smoke claims and remediation task force the state\u2019s insurance department formed after the Los Angeles-area fires. <\/p>\n Although Collins said the bills create a framework, she said specific regulations and standards that result should \u201cremain grounded in science.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why adjuster Brian Haden is skeptical about the bills, which he says lack specifics. He thinks both sides \u2014 fire survivors and insurance companies \u2014 will use \u201cwhatever\u2019s approved as a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill the (insurance department) enforce this?\u201d Haden said, adding that he foresees litigation will still be the way disputes will get resolved.<\/p>\n Jane Lawton Potelle, founder and executive director of Eaton Fire Residents United, whose data helped inform Harabedian\u2019s bill, acknowledged that the bills won\u2019t necessarily solve all enforcement issues.<\/p>\n She also said that although the bills\u2019 standards won\u2019t take effect in time to help her and her fellow survivors directly, she thinks the fact that standards are coming could still affect lawsuits or possible settlements right now.<\/p>\n \u201cInsurers are relying on people not to know information,\u201d she said. \u201cI want people to know how to protect themselves and stop being afraid. Living in a contaminated home can make you sick. And it can devalue your property.\u201d<\/p>\n Other notable bills<\/p>\n State lawmakers also passed legislation that takes aim at insurer behavior. They involve some of the other problems fire survivors mentioned, including long payment delays<\/a> and insurers\u2019 practice of throwing multiple adjusters at one claim: Senate Bill 876<\/a> requires an insurer to assign a primary point of contact for a customer within 30 days of a claim being filed and send a written report to that customer whenever it assigns a third adjuster within six months. It also includes rules requiring insurers to disclose more information: They must submit detailed disaster response plans to the insurance department by April 1, 2028. Those plans would need to be updated every two years or upon the insurance commissioner\u2019s request.<\/p>\n Senate Bill 877<\/a> says all preliminary and final calculations related to the amount of loss, covered damage and cost of repairs must be included in claims-related documents insurers provide to their customers within 15 days of a request.<\/p>\n