County Supervisors, Counsel to Announce Next Steps Monday in State Farm Wildfire Claims Investigation

Los Angeles County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey P. Horvath, joined by County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison, are scheduled to announce next steps Monday morning in the county’s investigation into State Farm’s handling of claims from the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, according to a media advisory.

The announcement is set for the Temple Street steps outside the third-floor entrance of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St. in Los Angeles. The county has not said in advance what it will contain.

The investigation, opened Nov. 13, 2025 under California’s Unfair Competition Law, followed complaints from residents about delays, underpayments and denials of legitimate wildfire claims. It matters most in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire killed 19 people, according to CAL FIRE, and destroyed more than 9,400 structures. Barger represents the Fifth District, which includes Altadena; Horvath’s Third District includes the Pacific Palisades area.

County Counsel demanded records on rotating adjuster practices, smoke damage payments, additional living expenses and State Farm’s use of artificial intelligence tools in claims review, setting a Nov. 20, 2025 response deadline. The office can seek restitution, injunctive relief and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day per violation, and may proceed civilly without a vote of the Board of Supervisors. Neither the county nor the state had released findings as of February.

“Altadena residents have already endured unimaginable loss and they shouldn’t have to fight their own insurance company to recover,” Barger said when the investigation was announced. Harrison said the office was committed to investigating State Farm’s actions thoroughly and “resolving their claims quickly and in full compliance with the law.”

State Farm called the county inquiry a distraction from its recovery work in California and disputes any suggestion that it mishandled or underpaid wildfire claims as a general practice. The company has put its payout at more than $5.7 billion on about 13,700 auto and home claims and says it expects total payouts to reach $7 billion.

A separate state case has moved further. The California Department of Insurance filed an enforcement action against State Farm General Insurance Company on May 4, alleging 398 violations of the Unfair Insurance Claims Practices Act found in 220 sample claims, and is seeking penalties of up to roughly $4 million and a license suspension of up to one year. A hearing before an administrative law judge has not been scheduled.

Need to Know

Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey P. Horvath and County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison will announce next steps in the county’s State Farm wildfire claims investigation on Monday, Aug. 31, in the morning. The announcement takes place outdoors on the Temple Street steps outside the third-floor entrance of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, in the downtown Civic Center, served by Metro’s Civic Center/Grand Park station and by metered street parking and paid public lots on the surrounding block. For information on the investigation, contact Assistant County Counsel Scott Kuhn at (323) 719-9606 or skuhn@counsel.lacounty.gov, or visit counsel.lacounty.gov. Wildfire policyholders can file a claims complaint with the California Department of Insurance at insurance.ca.gov or by calling (800) 927-4357.