Mayfair Legal Funding Provides Financial Support to Wildfire Victims in Los Angeles and Maui
Los Angeles, CA - 12th June, 2025 - In the wake of the catastrophic wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles and Maui, thousands of victims have been left to deal with legal battles and financial distress. Mayfair Legal Funding has stepped up to provide pre-settlement funding to those affected, ensuring they have access to the resources they need to sustain themselves. With a commitment to transparency, competitive flat interest rates, and a swift approval process, Mayfair ensures that wildfire victims can focus on rebuilding their lives with financial peace of mind.
Los Angeles Wildfires
In January 2025, Los Angeles faced unprecedented wildfires, notably the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which collectively destroyed over 12,000 structures and resulted in 27 fatalities. These fires, driven by high winds and prolonged drought conditions, rapidly spread across urban areas, causing significant displacement and loss.
The California Insurance Commissioner has since requested $1 billion from insurers to bolster the state's FAIR Plan, aiming to support property owners unable to secure private insurance. This initiative underscores the extensive damage and the pressing need for financial resources to aid in recovery.
Maui Wildfires
In August 2024, Maui experienced catastrophic wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina, resulting in 102 confirmed fatalities and the destruction of over 2,200 structures. The disaster caused approximately $5.5 billion in damages, marking it one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history.
In response, a tentative settlement exceeding $4 billion has been proposed to address the numerous lawsuits filed by affected homeowners and businesses. This settlement involves multiple defendants, including Hawaiian Electric Industries and local government entities, aiming to provide restitution to those impacted.
The Burden of Wildfire Lawsuits
Lawsuits following wildfires are often intricate, involving multiple defendants and high-powered legal teams representing utility companies and local authorities. For victims, these lawsuits are not just about legal accountability but about survival. Many have been forced to relocate, lost their sources of income, and are grappling with insurance disputes.
And these insurance disputes further complicate the recovery process. In California, the state's FAIR Plan, designed as a last-resort insurance option, is facing financial shortfalls due to the extensive damage from recent wildfires. The plan has requested $1 billion from private insurers to cover claims, which may increase premiums for all policyholders.
In Hawaii, the legal landscape is equally challenging. The Hawaii Supreme Court recently ruled that insurance companies cannot independently pursue legal action against those responsible for the 2023 Maui wildfire. This decision allows a $4 billion settlement to proceed, aiming to provide restitution to victims.
Delays in Compensation and the Struggle to Rebuild
Even when settlements are announced, claimants rarely see immediate relief. With complex negotiations and court approvals required, actual payouts may still be months or years away. The situation can become dire for those without savings or alternative financial resources. Many families are left unable to afford rent, medical expenses, or even daily necessities while waiting for their cases to resolve.
Mayfair Legal Funding: More Than Just Funding—A Partner in Justice
For wildfire victims in Los Angeles and Maui, legal battles can feel like yet another storm to weather after losing homes, businesses, and a sense of stability. At Tribeca, the mission goes beyond providing lawsuit funding. It's about leveling the playing field for individuals who deserve fair compensation but don't have the financial means to fight prolonged legal battles. Unlike traditional lenders or high-interest cash advance services, Tribeca offers non-recourse funding, meaning victims only repay if they win their case—a testament to the company's belief in its clients and their pursuit of justice.
To learn more, visit www.mayfairlegalfunding.com or speak to our funding experts today.
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Source: CaphIQ
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San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California's insurance commissioner is taking action against the FAIR Plan. Wildfire survivors say it's too late
In 2017, the California FAIR Plan got permission to change the language in its policies pertaining to wildfire smoke damage, in part by promising regulators the changes wouldn't reduce payouts for its policyholders. Eight years, hundreds of complaints and multiple lawsuits and investigations later, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has filed a rare legal challenge against the insurer of last resort for allegedly breaking its promise — and allegedly violating multiple insurance regulations including the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Act. The enforcement action, the first the department has taken against an insurer for conduct following the L.A. wildfires, calls on the FAIR Plan to 'cease and desist' any practices that violate Fair Claims Settlement Act regulations, and to discuss its policy language at a future hearing. Currently the FAIR Plan only covers what it calls 'permanent physical changes' wrought by smoke, language the insurer has interpreted as allowing it to deny a range of smoke damage claims. If the FAIR Plan does not adequately address the department's concerns at the hearing, the California Department of Insurance could escalate further by filing an additional cease-and-desist order related to specific accusations laid out in the document. The department also announced a monetary penalty against the insurer to be determined based on how many legal violations the Department identifies at the hearing. While the department would not specify exactly how many complaints policyholders have filed against the FAIR Plan for denying smoke damage claims, the department's press release said it has received 'hundreds' of related complaints against the insurer over multiple years. In an emailed statement to the Chronicle, FAIR Plan spokesperson Hilary McLean said the plan intends to 'fully participate' in the legal process initiated by the department. 'We understand the heavy toll wildfires have on families and communities, which extends far beyond the loss of property, and we remain focused on helping our customers recover and rebuild,' McLean said in the statement. The FAIR Plan has until mid-August to file a response. Insurance Department spokesperson Gabriel Sanchez said Lara would make a final decision after the hearing and evaluate evidence presented by both sides. Sanchez added that while the action involved complaints stemming from the LA wildfires, it 'addresses broader concerns, including patterns of conduct that predate' this January. The FAIR Plan is managed by a governing committee of industry representatives and paid into by all admitted carriers in California. Some policyholder advocates welcomed the department's action, though they pointed out that a separate, landmark court decision in June had already ruled that the relevant FAIR Plan policy language was illegal. Attorneys in that case expect to receive an injunction against the FAIR Plan in the next year, which would require it to change its policy language and re-adjust claims for thousands of policyholders going back to 2021 — regardless of what the CDI does or doesn't do. 'Certainly we've been asking the department to do this for quite some time,' Amy Bach, Executive Director of United Policyholders, told the Chronicle. Now, she said, 'the most important thing here is we get people's homes properly remediated and restored, and the FAIR Plan and their member insurers not continue to ignore the most current science, which is identifying toxic conditions that need to be remedied. …We can't have people moving back into homes that are unsafe, and get sick and die.' If an insurer denies their smoke damage testing or cleaning claim, families face a terrible choice: Either fight the insurer and deal with months of stress and uncertainty as their temporary housing coverage dwindles, or move home before they feel safe — and potentially expose themselves and their children to toxic smoke particles lingering in their walls and on their floors. 'Commissioner Lara's own press release shows that his FAIR Plan market conduct exam was completed in 2022. Yet he took no action until today, three years later,' Joy Chen, co-founder and CEO of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, said in a statement provided to the Chronicle. She continued: 'That delay caused real harm. Eaton and Palisades fire survivors suffered needlessly under FAIR Plan smoke damage denials because Lara failed to act on the findings of his own investigation.' In response to Chen's statement, Sanchez noted that the Department had worked for years to 'build a strong evidentiary record to meet legal standards and ensure lasting accountability.' In 2022, CDI released the findings of a multi-year investigation into the Fair Plan. That investigation, called a market conduct exam, identified 59 cases the FAIR Plan allegedly improperly denied or limited coverage for smoke damage it didn't consider having caused 'permanent physical change.' In a letter to the FAIR Plan, the department's general counsel wrote that such denials ran 'contrary to the law.' California requires all insurance companies offer fire coverage equal or better to that of the state's standard policy, which does not exclude smoke or 'nonpermanent damage.' In January, shortly after the huge Los Angeles fires, the FAIR Plan told the Chronicle it had not changed its coverage as a result of the 2022 Market Conduct Exam. 'The FAIR Plan has not altered its policy form or the way it determines coverage for smoke damage claims as a result of the market conduct exam,' the spokesperson wrote. The FAIR Plan, once seen as a last-ditch stand-in for a small number of Californians who couldn't get normal insurance, has seen explosive growth in the last several years as mainstream insurance companies increasingly drop policyholders and refuse to sign on new ones. It added 90,000 policyholders in the first half of 2025 alone, the Chronicle has found, boosting its number of insureds to nearly 600,000 — close to 7% of all policyholders in the state. Over the past few years, the consequences of insurance denials of smoke testing and remediation have grown as wildfires have become more urban — and their smoke increasingly toxic. For instance, in July, the Chronicle reported that beryllium, a rare and exceedingly toxic metal, had been detected at potentially dangerous thresholds in dozens of homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Despite this changing paradigm and the dangers it poses to families, other major insurance companies have also repeatedly denied comprehensive testing and cleaning for some of the most common and dangerous pollutants found in smoke, including asbestos and lead. The science around smoke damage — what to test for, how to test for it and what to do about it — is far from settled, experts told the Chronicle. No state has instituted consistent guidelines around how insurers should handle and cover this type of damage, though Colorado has begun the process. To fill in the gaps, Lara in May announced his department was forming a Smoke Claims & Remediation task force. Members include experts from public health agencies, policyholder advocates and representatives from multiple companies that work primarily for and with insurance companies.
Newsweek
14 hours ago
- Newsweek
California Moves Against State's Insurer of Last Resort Over Smoke Policies
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. California regulators have announced legal action against the state's fire insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, over its systematic denial of smoke damage claims to hundreds of wildfire victims. On Thursday, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) filed an order to show cause against the FAIR Plan, asking the insurer to go to court and justify its "permanent physical damage" requirement, which for years has been behind its denials of policyholders' claims related to smoke damage. It also issued a cease and desist order, with penalties, against the insurer. "I've spoken with wildfire survivors who would rather lose their homes to flames than endure the stress and confusion of navigating smoke damage claims. This is unacceptable," CDI Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a news release on Thursday. "This issue has persisted after every fire and has become even more urgent in the aftermath of the largest urban fires in history, the Palisades and Eaton fires. These consumers' message is clear: they need assistance, not obstacles," he added. "We will not tolerate insurance companies breaking the law and denying Californians the coverage they deserve, including the FAIR Plan." Critics, however, said that Golden State's authorities should have taken action years ago when they first learned that the FAIR Plan's smoke policies were likely illegal. Newsweek contacted the FAIR Plan for comment on Friday outside standard working hours. Why Is the California FAIR Plan Under Such Scrutiny? The California FAIR Plan is the state's fire insurer of last resort, offering fire coverage to homeowners who cannot find it anywhere else on the private market. The FAIR Plan, unlike other states' insurers of last resort, is not operated by the state. It is under the helm of the insurance industry. In recent years, as several major insurers cut coverage across the state to avoid paying enormous damage claims in some of the most risk-prone areas should disaster strike, the FAIR Plan inflated in size. As of June, according to the insurer's own data, the FAIR Plan had 610,179 policies and a total exposure of $650 billion, up 42 percent from September 2024 and 289 percent from September 2021. While for many homeowners dropped by their private carriers, any fire coverage is better than none, the FAIR Plan is often not an ideal solution. The insurer offers policies with less coverage than standard home insurance, and they are generally more expensive. In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, a stucco villa owned by David Steiner is still standing among burned homes during the Palisades fire in Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, on January 9. In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, a stucco villa owned by David Steiner is still standing among burned homes during the Palisades fire in Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, on January 9. JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images On top of that, many wildfire survivors have found through the years that the FAIR Plan is particularly reluctant to cover smoke damage claims. In June 2017, the FAIR Plan revised its policy language to require "permanent physical damage" for smoke claims, a rewording that has since allowed the insurer to issue more and more denials. In 2022, an investigative hearing into the FAIR Plan found that the insurer's handling of smoke claims was less than adequate. In May 2024, the California Supreme Court ruled that "damage caused by noxious substances or odors," such as smoke, should be covered where a policy insures against "direct physical loss or damage to" property—a decision that the CDI asked the FAIR Plan to align with. But the Palisades and Eaton fires struck before any change was made. Since then, the CDI has received more than 220 smoke-related consumer complaints against the FAIR Plan. In July, a spokesperson for the FAIR Plan told Newsweek that its coverage of smoke damage was fully consistent with its coverage of burn damage. "Both require direct physical loss. All FAIR Plan burn damage and smoke damage claims are handled consistent with California law. The FAIR Plan eliminated the use of the 'sight and smell' test last year, and has never enforced the smoke dispute resolution provision," the spokesperson said. They added: "Since last year, we have been working collaboratively with the California Department of Insurance to update and clarify our policy language around smoke damage, so the language is consistent with the manner in which these claims are being adjusted. Our goal is to continue providing fair and reasonable coverage for wildfire-related losses while maintaining the financial integrity of the FAIR Plan for all policyholders." Too Late for the FAIR Plan—But Not for State Farm The Eaton Fire Survivors Network, a grassroots community connecting about 6,500 survivors of the January wildfires in Los Angeles County, said Lara already knew there was something deeply wrong with the FAIR Plan's smoke policies in 2022, when his market conduct exam on the insurer was completed. "Yet he took no action until today, three years later," a statement by the network shared with Newsweek said. "That delay caused real harm. Eaton and Palisades fire survivors suffered needlessly under FAIR Plan smoke damage denials because Lara failed to act on the findings of his own investigation." The network is now shifting its attention to State Farm, asking Lara to complete and enforce the market conduct exam on the carrier "before approving another billion-dollar rate hike," the group said. State Farm, California's largest home insurer, is now facing a market exam following numerous complaints by policyholders over delays in paying their damage claims or outright denials. "Numerous homeowners reported delays and denials in claims processing, particularly concerning smoke contamination and hazardous materials like lead and asbestos," Chip Merlin, the founder and president of Merlin Law Group, told Newsweek. "The concerns regarding smoke are that State Farm has often delayed investigating for the finding of toxic residue from the smoke. Then when it does investigate, it limits its sample size so not enough areas of the home are being searched," Marlin explained. "Further, it then does not fully test those samples looking to find all the various types of toxic materials. The allegations and complaints are that the delayed investigation is pretextual." State Farm is also facing allegations of purposefully underinsuring homes, a practice that previous market exams had already unearthed. "I expect that the current examination will lead to many of the same conclusions as the last market conduct study. Many more mandated changes in State Farm's claims handling procedures, restitution to affected policyholders and changes to its underwriting must occur," Merlin said. He continued: "Because State Farm had a chance to correct these issues and failed to do so, I expect that the potential fines are great. To prevent another repeat of this, I would expect the study to require State Farm to report on its progress in addressing these issues, along with deadlines it must meet." The company finds itself under scrutiny for its recent request to hike its rates again, which State Farm says is necessary to stabilize its financial footing on the increasingly risky California market. In December 2023, State Farm received approval for a 20 percent increase in homeowners insurance premiums, which took effect in March 2024. Following the devastating wildfires earlier this year, it requested an emergency interim rate increase of 22 percent, which was reduced and approved as a 17 percent interim emergency rate increase effective June 1. "State Farm is still pursuing approval for the full 30 percent increase, with hearings scheduled for later this year," Merlin said. "I think State Farm will get another significant rate increase. The losses are much greater than what was originally determined. These fires were a historic event not seen since the last great urban fire in San Francisco more than a hundred years ago." He added: "The cost of these fires, as well as others that are happening at a much greater frequency, is causing significant losses and financial pressures. The fire peril losses in California have been off the charts for a decade. State Farm can certainly make a case for the need for higher rates." The question, Merlin said, is how to make sure coverage remains affordable for California homeowners. "Some may find that the cost of home ownership is simply too great, with insurance costs increasing significantly in such a short period," he added. "I don't see a short-term solution to this problem," Merlin said. "Rates and premiums will go up, but people might not be able to afford it. The long-term mitigation solutions will take far greater time to implement before those cost savings are realized. This is truly a crisis."
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