If we rebuild fire-safe, we must be able to get insurance
Feb 20, 2026
Dear friends,
If we rebuild stronger and safer, we must be able to buy insurance.
Instead, this has become one of the most common fears across EFSN gatherings and our Discord:
After I rebuild, after I remediate, after I do everything right… will I even be able to get insured?
This is a serious problem.
A bombshell NY Times front-page investigation revealed that in 2023, under a deal ironically called the “Sustainable Insurance Strategy,” state leaders negotiated changes with the insurance industry that ended up incentivizing companies to cancel tens of thousands of policies while gaining fresh rate hikes.
More than 11,000 of those cancellations hit ZIP codes that later burned in the Eaton and Palisades fires. That's how so many of us got pushed onto the FAIR Plan.
Here's the NY Times article (gift link):
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/us/los-angeles-california-fire-insurance-regulations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NlA.Fn_K.LAFf1OlhY--d&smid=url-share
This week brought a path forward.
SB 1076 (Pérez): Guaranteed Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez has introduced SB 1076, co-sponsored by EFSN and Consumer Watchdog.
At its core, SB 1076 protects a basic promise: if you do the work to make your home fire-resilient, you should be able to buy and keep insurance.
As Laurence Darmiento reported in the LA Times, the bill would require insurers to offer and renew coverage for homes that meet wildfire safety standards.
Senator Pérez said it plainly:
“Homeowners who meet or exceed safety standards should not be met with coverage denials.”
And I meant this, because it is exactly what survivors are living with right now:
“Survivors are rebuilding stronger and safer. But if our community cannot access insurance even after making our homes fire-safe, our housing market will crater.”
Here's the LA Times article:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-19/state-bill-would-mandate-insurance-for-homeowners-who-reduce-wildfire-risks
Regaining access to insurance is essential to our recovery. It is also essential to restoring a functioning, sustainable insurance market in California.
A prior version of this bill was killed in 2023. Passing it now will require taking on one of Sacramento's most powerful and well-funded industry lobbies. Big Insurance is already mobilizing against it.
We'll have to pull together.
Why this matters right now
Department of Angels' January 2026 survey report is blunt:
More than 7 in 10 survivors are still not home.
83% say their mental health has worsened since the fires.
Nearly 8 in 10 insured survivors report serious challenges with their insurers.
4 in 10 report new insurability problems like premium spikes or being dropped.
People are pushing forward. But the financial and emotional strain is compounding, and insurance remains a choke point.
It's Year Two. Attention is fading fast. We can't let it.
Year Two is here. Headlines are harder to secure. But our recovery is still fragile. If we do not keep shining light on what is happening, recovery will die in darkness.
Thank you to the many of you who answered our call and shared your experiences, good and bad, with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Paige St. John.
You saw the result in this week's front-page LA Times investigation.
The article shows that, across the board, more than a dozen Eaton and Palisades survivors told Paige they received no help at all from the CDI. Cases were closed while disputes remained unresolved. Some were told to stop trying to communicate with their complaint handlers.
Palisades survivor Len Kendall said it does not feel like “an actual, legitimate organization that's meant to protect consumers.”
The most troubling revelations involve whistleblower Coleen Vandepas, a 32-year complaint manager inside the Department of Insurance.
In a July letter to a State Farm case manager, she accused the insurer of “shoddy” and “shameful” handling of a fire claim and described a “pattern and practice” of delay.
Days later, a State Farm lawyer called a top executive at the Department of Insurance to complain about her.
Soon after, Coleen's State Farm caseload was reassigned and she was docked 10% of her pay.
Let that sink in.
The Department of Insurance exists to protect California consumers. But survivor complaints are not acted upon. Worse, when a regulator does enforce the law, State Farm appears able to get her punished.
That raises serious questions about whether our government agency charged with regulating State Farm is instead captured by it, and perhaps by other insurers as well.
The LA Times published the receipts, including Coleen's emails and documentation of the discipline she received. This is accountability journalism at its best:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-19/la-fire-victims-say-state-regulators-ignored-complaints-about-state-farm
Thank you to every survivor who shared your experience for this article.
The only way we will be able to stay visible is together.
Can't miss news
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened a civil rights investigation into delayed evacuation notices and potential disparities in historically Black West Altadena. Congratulations to Altadenans for Accountability and all the survivors and allies who led the charge.
LA Times article by Grace Toohey:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-12/altadena-civil-rights-investigation
County prosecutors are probing whether Southern California Edison could be criminally charged for the Eaton Fire.
From Melody Petersen in the LA Times:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-18/la-county-prosecutors-probing-whether-edison-should-be-criminally-prosecuted-for-eaton-fire
And Melody Petersen also reports that Edison's undergrounding plan in Altadena will generate more than $70 million in profit in its first year alone because shareholders earn a guaranteed return on capital spending.
Those profits are being paid by us. Altadena homeowners are being told they may have to pay $10,000 to $40,000 out of pocket to connect their homes to the new underground lines.
Most frustrating of all, all this disruption and expense won't even result in the removal of utility poles because Edison is not coordinating with telecommunications companies to bury those lines as well.
“There is no beautification aspect to it whatsoever,” said survivor Connor Cipolla.
Rob Steller pointed out that while the Eaton Fire destroyed half of Altadena's tree cover, this project as planned could damage many of the trees that remain.
Kudos to Connor Cipolla and Rob Steller for bringing this issue forward.
Survivor Advocacy Summit 2026
Getting SB 1076 and the other important bills across the finish line will take all of us. On Saturday February 28, we'll get to work.
Survivor Advocacy Summit 2026
Saturday, February 28
10a to 1p PT: National advocacy skills building
1 to 2p PT: California advocacy priorities and statewide planning
If you're a survivor, please join us! If you can only attend one portion, come to the California session. We will review the bills, answer your questions, and map next steps together.
Registration link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzVl8ESKVqZt942R5_DvVzxVezFsoBLph1pQd1kSsC-qgtqA/viewform?usp=dialog
It's tax season. Small mistakes now can cost thousands later.
Our webinar, Fire Recovery and Taxes: What Survivors Need to Know, drew more than 1,700 registrations. The first 1,000 of you filled the Zoom by the time we got started. I'm so sorry to those who tried to join and couldn't get in.
The chat was overflowing with smart questions, and requests for the slides and transcript. Many of you said you wanted to forward everything directly to your CPA so nothing gets missed.
Good news: because so many of you asked for a dedicated Q&A session, we're scheduling a follow-up session focused entirely on your questions. We'll share details in next week's newsletter.
Meantime, if you missed the webinar or got locked out, carve out time this week to watch the replay. Do not wait until April panic sets in. Future you will be grateful!
Replay: https://www.efsurvivors.net/expert-resources
Slides:
Transcript:
Being together
Our amazing in-person EFSN convenings
It was incredible to be together at our one-year anniversary.
As I go around town, I keep running into people who were there. Almost every time, someone says the same thing. It felt comforting. It felt grounding. It felt like exhaling.
I get goosebumps looking at the photos. For the 450+ of you who joined us in person, the stunning images captured by Wally Skalij, Kim Newmoney, and Carolin Schild are now available for download: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XHS3A7PVOa5c0AANM5BZ3nN3YJZkzM7X
And for the 400+ who attended our six-month anniversary postcard party, those photos are here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GzoRAxFbPP-6wmr8x_T_PZRrEnrB6DE8
If you missed our one-year anniversary press conference, you can watch it here: https://www.efsurvivors.net/one-year-press-conference
You are not alone.
Upcoming events
LA Soil Summit
Live in Altadena on Saturday February 21
Online on Sunday February 22
Community-based event on environmental safety, soil testing, and what safe return truly requires. I will be speaking Saturday afternoon and hope to see you there.
https://community30x.com/lasoilsummit
PaliBu Recovery Expo
Sunday, February 22 at 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Pacific Palisades
Architects, contractors, agencies, and financing experts will be gathered in one place to answer real rebuilding questions.
https://www.palibu.org/
If you are hosting a survivor event and would like it listed in an upcoming newsletter, reply to this email with the details.
Thank you for supporting our recovery hub
In last week's newsletter, I shared that despite building the nation's largest survivor-led recovery hub with over 10,000 Eaton, Palisades, and Malibu survivors and allies, EFSN is nearly out of funds because foundation after foundation has declined saying they don't fund advocacy.
After I shared that, many of you donated.
Huge, heartfelt thanks. Your support means more than I can say.
AND: Sincere apologies to all of you who emailed, called, and texted me worried that the donation link showed Habitat for Humanity instead of EFSN.
Sorry! Truth is, I never imagined that being the Admin of my local pickleball WhatsApp would lead to this, and I am learning nonprofit life in real time, alongside you.
Here's what I should have shared last week:
EFSN is a non-profit fiscally sponsored by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, a 501(c)(3). Donations are processed through Habitat on our behalf and are fully tax-deductible. Your gift goes to EFSN.
All of our work is fully nonpartisan and 501(c)(3) compliant. We do not endorse candidates or align with political parties. Our advocacy is grounded in deep policy research and real-world analysis. We elevate survivor leadership, identify what's broken, and push for lawful, practical reforms that remove barriers and unlock resources.
This is not about politics. It's about making sure the systems families rely on actually work.
Recovery should be possible for everyone. We are here to help make that real.
Every $1 invested in EFSN has resulted in over $1,000 in delayed insurance payouts released directly into survivor accounts.
What a year we have had together! EFSN has moved mountains with one full-time staff member (me) and two part-timers, plus thousands of you who keep showing up, answering each other's questions, sharing tips, and speaking up in ways that end up becoming real accountability.
And here's the truth about advocacy, because I know the word can sound scary:
The biggest risk in our recovery is not advocacy. It's the absence of it.
If we go quiet, the bills don't pass. Government officials are not pushed to do their jobs. Insurers keep getting away with it. And the families who do not have pre-fire wealth get pushed out first.
If you are able to help sustain this work, thank you.
For Donor-Advised Funds:
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles
8739 Artesia Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706
Attn: Francesca Dibrito (for EFSN)
Phone: 310-738-2035
EIN: 33-0416470
Please include in the memo line:
For Eaton Fire Survivors Network
For individual donors:
https://www.efsurvivors.net/donate
Thank you for being here to support one another. We are stronger together.
Have a wonderful weekend. And don't forget to watch the tax webinar before next week.
With love and gratitude,
Joy
The Eaton Fire Survivors Network (EFSN) is the nation's largest survivor recovery hub, connecting more than 10,000 Eaton, Palisades, and Malibu fire survivors and allies. Through survivor leadership and coordination, we work to remove barriers and unlock resources so that recovery is accessible to everyone. Learn more: efsurvivors.net.
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