Friday, August 1, 2025

Guest Opinion | Joy Chen: State Farm Shouldn’t Get a Rate Hike If They’re Breaking the Law

By JOY CHEN

Insurance has gone from being a safety net to a roadblock. A new report from the Department of Angels finds that 70% of insured Eaton and Palisades fire survivors are experiencing claim delays, denials, or underpayments. Among State Farm policyholders, it’s 82%.

And the official charged with fixing this—California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara—is actively making it worse.

Originally, the State Farm rate proceeding wasn’t set to start until October.

But on July 18, under cover of darkness, Commissioner Lara quietly filed a legal proposal to bifurcate the upcoming State Farm rate proceeding.

If approved by the judge, this maneuver would fast-track a billion-dollar rate hike, while indefinitely postponing or altogether avoiding any scrutiny of State Farm’s misconduct.

This is not procedural housekeeping. It’s regulatory failure with life-altering consequences.

Lara has publicly admitted receiving more complaints about State Farm than any other private insurer. And yet now, he’s shielding the company doing the greatest harm.

That’s why, on August 1, the Eaton Survivors Network delivered a 47-page package to Commissioner Lara, including:
• A letter from Eaton and Palisades survivors
• Nearly 500 firsthand accounts documenting systemic misconduct
• Clear citations of laws that, according to survivors’ accounts, State Farm is violating

You can read the full package here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/67f5687fc4ea480d5d201fe5/t/688cc8200999945b91d7f32f/1754056737445/EFSN+Package+to+Commissioner+Lara+080125.pdf

What’s at stake now?

The judge’s ruling on the bifurcation proposal could come as early as this Monday, August 4.

If granted, State Farm’s rate hike could move forward before any results from the investigation that Commissioner Lara just announced. There would be no transparency or accountability. And no timeline for when survivors will ever get the insurance benefits that we already paid for.

Billions in legally obligated payouts remain unpaid. The insurance system, under Commissioner Lara’s watch, is now obstructing our entire regional recovery.

Bottom line: If a company is breaking the law, it should be sanctioned, not rewarded with a billion-dollar rate hike.

We never wanted this fight. We’re simply trying to rebuild our lives and protect our kids. But when the future we’ve worked so hard to build is being stolen by corporate misconduct and regulatory failure, we have no choice but to stand together and fight back.

Joy Chen is Co-Founder and CEO of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and a former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles. Get updates on survivors’ fight to secure insurance payouts: https://www.efsurvivors.net/newsletter