California
California home insurers that denied the most claims
The wildfires that have ravaged Southern California over the past week have wiped out entire neighborhoods, destroying and damaging thousands of homes in Los Angeles County. If analysts’ estimates of the damages prove correct, it could be the largest wildfire insured loss in United States history.
As insurance companies operating in the area expect a barrage of damage claims in the coming days and weeks, Newsweek looked at insurers that previously declined the most claims.
Why It Matters
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, estimates that the Palisades fire, which was 19 percent contained on Wednesday morning, has destroyed 2,191 structures and damaged 397 more since it started on January 7. The Eaton fire, which was 45 percent contained as of Wednesday morning, is estimated to have destroyed 4,627 structures and damaged 486 others.
Experts expect the losses linked to the fires to be enormous. According to the latest estimates by forecaster AccuWeather, the total damage and economic loss caused by the fires could reach between $250 billion and $275 billion. That put the fires on track to be among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
Many homeowners who lost their homes to the fires will count on their insurers to help them rebuild. A claim rejection might ruin their chance to get back on their feet after tragedy struck.
DAVID PASHAEE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
Newsweek has looked at how many damage claims the biggest insurers in California for market share closed without payment nationwide in 2023, using the latest data made available by Weiss Ratings.
Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance had the highest rate of closures with no payment at the national level of all insurers operating in California. The insurer, which according to the California Department of Insurance (CDI) had a 14.9 percent market share in the Golden State in 2023, closed a total of 257,189 claims across the country with no payment that same year—equal to 49.7 of all claims closed in 2023.
Two USAA affiliates had the second-highest rate of claim denials. USAA General Indemnity Co denied 48 percent of all claims closed in 2023 across the country, for a total of 273,994 claims closed without payment; USAA Casualty Ins Co closed 428,116 claims with no payment, also equal to 48 percent of all claims closed that same year.
Newsweek reached out to USAA for comment via email on Wednesday.
Allstate Insurance closed 893,407 claims with no payment in 2023 at the national level, equal to 46.4 percent of all claims the company closed that year.
In 2023, Allstate was the sixth-largest insurer in California, with a 6 percent market share in the state; USAA followed with 5.7 percent.
State Farm General, the largest insurer in California in 2023 with a market share of 21.22 percent, denied 37.8 percent of all claims closed that same year nationwide without payment, for a total of 29,624.
Farmers, USAA and Allstate all sell more policies out of state than State Farm.
Still, these companies’ denial rates were much higher than the national average. By comparison, home insurers across the country denied an average of 37 percent of claims in 2023, according to Weiss Ratings. Weiss Ratings is an independent rating agency founded in 1971.
What People Are Saying
Weiss Ratings founder Martin D. Weiss said in September 2024, when the 2023 report was released: “There’s nothing normal about these high denial rates. They’ve been creeping up steadily for nearly two decades and have now reached alarming levels, especially among some of the biggest providers in disaster-prone states like Florida and California.
“The public can’t even begin to cope with the property insurance crisis until both the industry and their regulators provide full transparency, a change in standard operating procedure that may not be possible without strong ‘Truth in Insurance’ legislation.”
A spokesperson for State Farm told Newsweek last week: “Our number one priority right now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees impacted by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy.”
A spokesperson for Farmers told Newsweek last week: “We are currently focused on assisting customers who are impacted by the devastating fires and strong winds affecting Southern California. Our specially trained Farmers Catastrophe Response Team members have already begun to provide assistance to customers and we are urging local residents to remain vigilant.”
A spokesperson for Allstate told Newsweek last week: “Right now, we’re focused on helping our customers recover and rebuild their lives. We’re supporting customers who have filed claims and have teams ready to move into California once it’s safe to help on site. Allstate policyholders affected by the wildfires can file their claim through the Allstate® Mobile app, online, by calling 1-800-54-STORM, or their local agent. We’re here for our customers.”
What’s Next
The scope of the damages caused by the fires is yet to be defined and will depend on when firefighters will manage to contain and extinguish the flames. Dangerous winds kept Southern California at risk on Wednesday, though firefighters have made progress against the blazes.
According to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, winds will calm down later this week.
California
Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’
We are counting down to the California governor’s race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket.
In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, “I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors.”
Although he’s been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls.
“President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What’s harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They’ve only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that’s it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot,” Bianco said.
Bianco isn’t the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he’s neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
SEE ALSO: CA governor candidate Steve Hilton says ‘everybody supports’ Trump’s immigration policies
Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor’s race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
“Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I’m going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that,” Bianco said.
When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, “Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor’s signature.”
“It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem,” he said about the homelessness crisis. “Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say ‘homeless,’ zero money. You’re getting absolutely nothing. I can’t tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years.”
When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn’t have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, “We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won’t allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor.”
Bianco also said California jails shouldn’t have to play the role of treatment facilities.
Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president’s endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state — meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed.
The primary election is June 2.
No clear front-runner in race for California governor, new poll shows
A new poll shows there’s still no clear front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
California
PlayOn Sports fined $1.1 million by California watchdog over student data violations
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — California’s privacy watchdog has ordered PlayOn Sports to pay a $1.10 million fine and change how it handles consumer data after finding the company’s practices violated state law in ways that affected students and schools in the state.
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued the decision following a settlement reached by CalPrivacy’s Enforcement Division.
The decision is the first by the board to address privacy violations involving students and California schools.
Schools across the country use PlayOn Sports’ GoFan platform to sell digital tickets to high school sporting events, theater performances, and homecoming and prom dances, with attendees presenting tickets at the door on their mobile phones.
Schools also use PlayOn Sports’ platforms for other sports-related activities, including attending games, streaming them online, and looking up statistics about teams and players.
In California, about 1,400 schools contract with PlayOn Sports for these services.
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GoFan is also the official ticketing platform for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports.
According to the board’s decision, PlayOn Sports used tracking technologies to collect personal information and deliver targeted advertisements to ticketholders and others using its services.
The company allegedly required Californians to click “agree” to tracking technologies before they could use their tickets or view PlayOn Sports websites, without providing a sufficient opt-out option.
“Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn’t have to leave their privacy rights at the door,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising. California’s privacy law does not work that way. Businesses must ensure they offer lawful ways for Californians to opt-out, particularly with captive audiences.”
The decision also describes students as a uniquely vulnerable population and warns that targeted advertising systems can subject students to profiling that can follow them for years, expose them to manipulative or harmful content, and develop sensitive inferences about their lives.
Instead of providing its own opt-out method, PlayOn Sports directed students and other users to opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, which the decision said violated the company’s responsibility to provide its own way for consumers to opt out. The company also allegedly failed to recognize opt-out preference signals and did not provide Californians with sufficient notice of its privacy practices.
“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for all Californians — from high school students to older adults, and everyone in between — to make the choice of whether they want to be tracked or not,” said Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s executive director. “Californians can opt-out with covered businesses, and they can sign up for the newly launched DROP system to request that data brokers delete their personal information.”
Beyond the $1.10 million fine, the board’s order requires PlayOn Sports to conduct risk assessments, provide disclosures that are easy to read and understand, and implement proper opt-out methods.
The order also requires the company to comply with California’s privacy law prohibiting the selling or sharing of personal information of consumers between 13 and 16 without their affirmative opt-in consent.
California
California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:43AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A bill that would prevent police officers from moonlighting with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is advancing through the California State Assembly.
AB 1537 passed the State Assembly’s committee on public safety on Tuesday.
The bill also requires that officers report any offers for secondary employment related to immigration enforcement to their place of work.
Those failing to comply could face decertification as a peace officer in California.
The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, whose district includes Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire and parts of South Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
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