One of the biggest stories to emerge from these fires is the insurance nightmare fire survivors have endured. Not all stories of insurers are bad but the number of residents who have reported trouble with their insurance company is in the thousands. The bottom line: people report not getting the money they believe they deserve under their policies to help them rebuild and replace what was lost. Even those residents whose homes still stand are struggling and are battling with their insurance providers over smoke damage and the cost of clean up, repairs and testing for lingering toxic substances.In the first part of a two part look at the insurance situation in Southern California, we speak to Laurence Darmiento who covers the industry for the Los Angeles Times. He shares with us the stories he’s heard from survivors of both the Eaton and Palisades Fires.

Guests:Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times reporter covering the insurance industry in California as well as finance and aerospace.
Joe Ressa, Altadena residentCheck out some of Laurence’s recent stories:https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-09-22/insurance-rights-initiative-proposed-by-leading-consumer-grouphttps://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-09-08/despite-court-loss-california-fair-plan-sticking-to-disputed-smoke-damage-policyhttps://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-08-25/local-politicians-and-january-fire-survivors-hold-press-conference-over-insurance-claims-payments
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-01-09/la-fires-property-home-insurance-crisis-fair-plan-lara-state-farm-allstate-palisades-eaton-altadena-wildfires