Our Insurance Fight Just Reached the White House
April 7, 2026
Dear friends,
First off: Thank you, Mr. President, for shining a national spotlight on the need to hold insurers accountable.
After 15 months of you and me and more than 10,000 Eaton and Palisades survivors and allies documenting delayed and underpaid insurance claims, this issue suddenly reached the national stage.
Laurence Darmiento has the backstory in the Los Angeles Times in an article titled:
President Trump bashed State Farm on social media: Why it didn't come out of the blue
It begins:
Victims of the January 2025 wildfires unhappy with how insurers have handled their claims have filed lawsuits, protested and complained to local and state officials.
This week, they got support from an unexpected ally: President Trump.
“It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He also asked U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to give him a list of insurers that “acted swiftly, courageously, and bravely” to fulfill their legal obligation and another list of those that were “particularly bad.”
When I read that line, I had to smile.
Because, in one of those strange moments history sometimes gives you, that is exactly what we had already started building.
Something powerful is coming
Over the past year, Eaton and Palisades survivors through efsurvivors.net have submitted more than 1,300 firsthand accounts of insurance misconduct.
Our stories have already helped unlock more than $100 million in delayed insurance payments into survivor bank accounts.
But they are also laying the foundation for something bigger.
EFSN is preparing the nation's first public, insurer-by-insurer record of wildfire insurance performance.
In other words, the very kind of good insurer, bad insurer list the President just called for.
Every insurer involved in the Eaton and Palisades fires will be included.
Your responses will be anonymized and combined into an open source dataset that survivors, journalists, researchers, lawmakers, regulators, and the public can review and analyze.
This week, we invited a few of California's top insurance litigators to help refine the survey questions so the results can support enforcement actions, investigations and civil litigation where warranted.
Next, volunteer researchers in our community will help finalize the questions and prepare the survey on Qualtrics.
In the next couple of weeks, we will invite all of you to participate.
Together, we are building the public record that President Trump, state leaders, regulators, journalists, and law enforcement need to hold every insurer accountable.
Meanwhile in Sacramento: Insurance lobby's gun blazing for our bills!
While survivors are fighting for the insurance payouts we need to recover, the insurance industry is spending big to block reform.
Camille Von Kaenel and team in Politico reported this week in a note titled “The ads are ramping up” that the insurance lobby is spending big on a major advertising campaign against consumer protection bills in Sacramento.
These bills would speed up claims payments and require insurers to cover homes that meet fire safety standards.
What? Those are our bills!
One line from the article caught my eye:
“It's a sign the industry is on the defensive after the Los Angeles firestorm last year motivated consumer and wildfire survivor groups to ramp up their lobbying efforts and consolidate political power in Sacramento.”
That's us!
The industry is spending millions on high-priced lobbyists and ad campaigns.
Survivors, by contrast, are pouring in our time, our energy, and our personal sacrifice.
All we have is one another.
The voices of survivors and allies across California.
You can learn more about the four insurance reform bills and add your endorsement here:
For organizational endorsements:
Edison and the Eaton Fire survivor housing crisis
Last weekend, Altadena community leaders led by the DENA Rise Up coalition held a solemn Good Friday procession carrying photos of those killed in the Eaton Fire.
The procession ended outside the home of Edison CEO Pedro Pizarro.
Their message was simple.
Edison must help solve the growing housing crisis facing Eaton Fire survivors.
As insurance housing coverage runs out, many families are approaching homelessness despite doing everything right. Many other survivors had no insurance coverage at all.
Community leaders called on Edison to advance urgent housing relief to stabilize families now.
Fox 11's Christina Gonzalez has the story.
Survivors cannot rebuild if we are struggling just to stay housed.
Altadena Rebuild Trade Show
Sunday, April 19 in Altadena
The Altadena Rebuild Trade Show is a hands-on in-person event designed to help displaced families see what rebuilding can look like and connect with resources that support recovery.
Last year's event welcomed more than 1,000 community members.
This year will include rebuilding resources, virtual reality home experiences, family friendly activities, and opportunities to connect with partners working on recovery.
Info and RSVP here:
https://bit.ly/altadenatradeshow
Thank you to everyone serving our community.
Last weekend, I was honored by Congresswoman Judy Chu as a Woman of the Year alongside remarkable community leaders Christy Zamani, Vanya De La Cuba and Gayle Nicholls-Ali.
The plaque reads: “In recognition of your outstanding contribution. Your leadership, compassion, and selfless commitment to the community are invaluable.”
The truth is that recognition belongs to so many of you as well.
Over the past year, countless survivors have stepped forward to help neighbors, share resources, organize information, and support families through the hardest months of their lives.
Please know that your leadership and generosity are seen.
And I feel deeply privileged to walk alongside every one of you in service during a time of such unfathomable trauma for our community.
The power of survivors together
The past year has revealed something extraordinary.
Survivors are not waiting quietly for institutions to fix the system.
We are connecting with one another and with our local, state and national leaders.
We are documenting the truth.
We are changing the course of this recovery.
And we appreciate President Trump for leading the effort to unlock insurance payouts so our families can finally get home.
What powers us is simple: love for our families and our community.
And we are just getting started.
Big hug,
Joy
The Every 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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