Is State Farm being ‘stingy’? These fire victims think so

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Why homeowners are furious over State Farm’s handling of insurance claims.
• Secret recordings reveal LAPD cops spewing racist, sexist and homophobic comments, a complaint alleges.
• Los Angeles is a pickle city. Where to find pickle bagels, fried pickles and pickle nachos.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

Fire victims have turned on State Farm

The night of the devastating Eaton fire, Jared Franz was in a cramped hotel room with his family hoping his Altadena home would still be standing when the sun rose. Samantha Bonar, at the fire’s eastern edge in Pasadena, was thinking the same thing after making a quick escape.

Both homes survived the blaze, but something else also bound the two homeowners together: the challenge of dealing with their insurer State Farm General after their homes suffered damage from smoke — an insidious irritant that lingers in insulation and fabrics, infiltrates every crevice and made their homes uninhabitable.

When she returned to her home of 24 years, Bonar put it succinctly: “It smelled like a campfire.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, both homeowners said the state’s largest home insurer has been difficult to deal with and stingy after they filed claims to have their homes remediated and get paid for the expense of living elsewhere while the work was done.

Jared Franz and his wife, Ingrid, look out of their smoke-damaged home in Altadena.

(William Liang / For The Times)

Each filed complaints with the state, and Franz, in an email sent to State Farm last month, accused the company of “negligence, incompetence, and stonewalling.”

The company, citing its privacy policies, declined to discuss the complaints but said it is “committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously and efficiently.”

There is no doubt that State Farm is dealing with challenges of its own as it is swarmed with claims from the Palisades and Eaton fire zones. In its last update, the company and its parent, State Farm Mutual, which insures autos in the state, said they had paid nearly $2.2 billion to cover 11,750 fire and auto claims — with the property claims expected to hit $7.9 billion.

Jared Franz, left, and his wife, Ingrid, examine their son’s room. They found a lot of dust from the fire inside. The home, which survived the Eaton fire, is not habitable due to smoke damage, they said.

(William Liang / For The Times)

It’s unlikely any other insurer will pay more, given State Farm’s market share, but policyholder advocates told The Times that the company has a reputation for being stingy when handling smoke damage claims, which can be expensive if it’s found that ash and soot have penetrated a home’s interior.

State Farm, though, is not the only insurer that has been criticized for its handling of smoke claims. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a bulletin last week reminding all insurers the claims “must be fully and fairly investigated,” noting that wildfire ash may contain asbestos, heavy metals, chemicals and other hazardous substances.

Read the story in full here.

Today’s top stories

A complaint obtained by The Times reveals officers voicing open discrimination against potential recruits and colleagues based on race, sex and sexual orientation. Above, officers gather at the LAPD administration building in Los Angeles in 2011.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Secret recordings reveal LAPD cops spewing racist, sexist and homophobic comments, a complaint alleges

• In one conversation, a Latina LAPD officer offered this advice on how to fight African Americans: “You hit Black people in the liver; I heard they got weak livers,” according to the complaint filed Jan. 5.
• The same officer allegedly described a Latina janitor to her colleagues as a “wetback” after the janitor complained about the officer.
• Little, it seems, was out of bounds for the accused officers, who referred to a female supervisor as a “gay ass bitch,” according to the complaint.

L.A. area faces more rain, snow and potential flooding with new atmospheric river

• An atmospheric river is expected to arrive early Wednesday, bringing heavy precipitation along the coast of California through Thursday, with significant impacts to mountain areas as it moves east toward the end of the week.
• The heaviest downpour is expected to occur in mountain areas Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday, with a chance of roadway and flash flooding, mudslides and possible debris flows near recent burn scars.

What else is going on

• CBS hits back at the FCC over probe into ’60 Minutes’ edits.
• L.A. wildfires prompt a surge in the local home furnishings market.
• Elon Musk’s feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, explained.
• Celine Dion warns fans about ‘fake and not approved’ AI-generated music credited to her.
• A Southern California Hindu temple was vandalized with anti-India messages.
• Metro’s Olympics plans rely on federal funding. Will Trump threaten it?
• A Canadian province slaps a 25% tax increase on electricity exports to the U.S. in response to Trump’s trade war.
• The Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom hits a roadblock: D.A. Hochman opposes resentencing.
• A camera and spare batteries disguised as plants found outside a home could be burglary tools, officials say.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

• A Social Security insider describes Elon Musk’s team’s rampage at the agency and the threat to your benefits, columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
• The A’s promised tourists for Nevada. Columnist Bill Shaikin asks, does Las Vegas risk pricing them out?
• Unlike ‘The Baldwins,’ Halyna Hutchins documentary grapples with reality of the ‘Rust’ shooting, writes columnist Mary McNamara.
• Dave Roberts is Dodgers’ real MVP? A new contract removes all doubt, columnist Bill Plaschke writes.
• In Trump’s war on NOAA, the losers will be Americans and the economy, writes guest columnist David Helvarg.

This morning’s must reads

A view of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy.

(Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Italy, here we come: Why these Angelenos are bailing on the U.S. Italy, while always a hot vacation spot, hasn’t historically been as popular for expats; most estimates put the number of Americans living in Italy at around 15,000. But attorney Marco Permunian said now more than ever, Americans, especially Southern Californians, clamor for the historic bustle of Rome or a more relaxed, rustic lifestyle a la “Under the Tuscan Sun.”

Other must reads

• A homeless woman struggles to say goodbye to the home she raised her kids in.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

(Mar Hernandez / For The Times)

Going out

• 🎾Times contributor Mark Gozonsky completed his years-long quest to play at every L.A. tennis court. These 10 stand out.
• 🥒Los Angeles is a pickle city. Where to find pickle bagels, fried pickles and pickle nachos.

Staying in

• 📺‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 4 recap: Pick up the phone, some answers are calling.
• 💿Times music critic Mikael Wood says Lady Gaga is a monster reborn on her new album ‘Mayhem.’
• 👩🏽‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Bricia Lopez’s Black Bean and Oaxacan Cheese Memelas.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Josh Silver writes: “The FOOD cafe in West L.A. Delicious, healthy food. I eat lunch there almost every day. It’s like a high end diner, the best ever. I bring as many friends and business relationships as I can. Small restaurants are having a hard time right now and deserve as much support as possible.”

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Catherine O’Hara at the Los Angeles Times 2025 SXSW film festival studio in Austin.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Christina House at the SXSW Film and TV Festival in Austin.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.