Eaton Fire Survivors Network
EFSN Community Update: Week of August 1st

Message from Joy Chen
Founder of EFSN
Dear Friend,
 
Here at the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, our 3rd pillar is clear: securing the full insurance payouts that all Eaton and Palisades survivors are owed. We began with State Farm because, even amid gross misconduct, they keep managing to secure massive rate hikes.
 
I’m writing today to fill you in on what our state regulator is doing. This matters to you, whether or not you’re insured by State Farm. That’s because what happens with State Farm will set the precedent for how every other insurance company is allowed to operate in California.
 
Originally, the State Farm rate proceeding wasn’t set to start until October.
 
On July 18, under cover of darkness, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo 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. Commissioner Lara has publicly admitted receiving more complaints about State Farm than any other private insurer. Yet the agency charged with protecting Californians is now shielding the company doing the greatest harm.
 
Today, the Eaton Fire Survivors Network delivered a 47-page package to Commissioner Lara.
 It includes:
 
Lara has publicly admitted that State Farm generates more consumer complaints than any other private insurer. And yet, the agency that’s supposed to protect us is now shielding the company doing the greatest harm.
 
That’s why today, the EFSN delivered a 47-page package to Commissioner Lara, including:
  • A letter from Eaton and Palisades fire survivors
  • Nearly 500 firsthand accounts documenting systemic misconduct
  • Clear citations of laws 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 would move forward—without completing the Market Conduct Exam that Commissioner Lara just announced. There would be no transparency. No accountability. And no timeline for when survivors will get the money we need to recover.
And if California regulators allow this to happen with State Farm, every other insurer will follow their lead. That’s why this fight affects us all.
 
The State Farm Files: 7 Core Themes from Nearly 500 Survivors
  1. Abandoned after decades of paying premiums
  2. Rotating adjusters force us to start over again and again
  3. Refusal to test for toxins—even with infants and toddlers in the home
  4. Loss estimates slashed to a fraction of the real cost
  5. Families pushed to the brink of homelessness
  6. Crushing physical and emotional toll
  7. Survivors demanding Lara hold State Farm accountable
Key stat:
According to the Department of Angels, 70% of insured Eaton and Palisades fire survivors are experiencing claim delays, denials, or underpayments. For State Farm policyholders, it’s 82%.
Billions in legally obligated payouts remain unpaid. The insurance system, under Commissioner Lara’s watch, is now obstructing our entire regional recovery.
Our ask to Commissioner Lara:
  1. Withdraw the bifurcation proposal
  2. Complete and publish the Market Conduct Exam
  3. Freeze all rate hikes until State Farm complies with California law
Full PDF package:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/67f5687fc4ea480d5d201fe5/t/688cc8200999945b91d7f32f/1754056737445/EFSN+Package+to+Commissioner+Lara+080125.pdf

Bottom line: If a company is breaking the law, it should be sanctioned—not rewarded with a billion-dollar rate hike.
 
We never asked for 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.
 
We’re also developing a legislative agenda to hold all insurers accountable. Stay tuned.
 
And I hope to see you tonight (Friday) at our very first First Friday Community Dinner at the Good Neighbor Bar, 5:30–8:30. Sign up here.
 
With hugs and solidarity,
Joy Chen

Upcoming Events 
Just the essentials—curated for clarity
TONIGHT! August 1st, 2025: EFSN First Friday Community Dinner! 
5:30-8:30 pm at The Good Neighbor Bar, 2311 Lincoln Ave
We’re launching a new First Fridays series! Every first Friday of the month, we’ll get together for a laid-back dinner—no agenda, no speakers—just time to relax, catch up with old friends, and connect with new ones who truly get it. 

This month, the Glorious Gloria Gift GiveAway, a nonprofit that provides free jewelry to uplift survivors, will be joining us to offer pieces for anyone who’d like to take home a small gift of joy. There will be an oyster truck there with lobster, shellfish, and more. You’re welcome to grab food from the truck and drinks from GNB, or bring your own picnic dinner. Kids are welcome. Sign up here.

August 3rd, 2025: EFSN Table Volunteer with Joy at Altadena Rebuild Tradeshow
12:00-4:00 pm at Loma Alta Park
Stop by the EFSN table at the Altadena Rebuild Tradeshow! With over 20 vendors sharing options for design, construction and financing, it’ll be a great chance to get info and resources for your rebuild. No RSVP needed to attend. While you’re there, come volunteer with Joy Chen for an hour to welcome fellow survivors to EFSN. Sign up for your one-hour volunteer shift with Joy here.

The Voices State Farm Can’t Ignore
Excerpts from Nearly 500 Testimonies Written to Lara 
Six months after the Eaton and Palisades fires, 70% of insured survivors report their recovery is being derailed by delays and denials. These firsthand accounts contained here are a heartbreaking record of what happens when corporate misconduct meets regulatory failure. From nearly 500 survivor messages, seven themes emerge. 

Theme 1: Abandoned By State Farm After Decades of Paying Premiums Families paid premiums for decades, only to be left stranded after disaster.
  • “We paid State Farm premiums for 35 years. Now, State Farm is making our suffering worse, day after day.”
  • “After 6 decades of paying thousands a year for insurance, we expect them to honor their agreement. What's the point of home insurance? We could have invested those payments and had a tidy sum for this disaster.”
Theme 2: State Farm’s Rotating Adjuster Shuffle Survivors are bounced from one adjuster to the next, forced to start over each time. 
  • “Our claim has been reassigned to five different adjustors. Each time, we’ve had to start over.”
  • “Right when you think you’re getting somewhere, there's a lag in communication, then you have a new adjuster.”
Theme 3: State Farm’s Refusal to Test Toxic Homes State Farm refuses to test for toxins, pressuring families to return to unsafe homes. 
  • “State Farm outright refuses to test for toxins. They’re pressuring us to put our 19-month-old baby and 5-year-old kindergartner back into a home contaminated with dangerous levels of lead dust.”
  • “We paid over $10,000 for licensed experts. The results: toxic ash, high lead, arsenic, chromium and other risks. We’re asking State Farm to do what they promised, make our homes livable again.”
Theme 4: State Farm’s Drastically Lowballed Loss Estimates State Farm is shifting and slashing loss estimates for both destroyed and partially damaged homes. 
  • “State Farm insists that our destroyed, red-tagged home can be repaired.”
  • “They offered us $11,000 to remediate our five-bedroom house. That’s only 13% of actual cost.”
Theme 5: Financial Devastation Inflicted by State Farm Delays and denials are driving families into deep financial distress. 
  • “Our credit cards are maxed out. We are literally going to be homeless.”
  • “Our family has been forced into a nomadic existence. We've slept in six places since the fire. State Farm has repeatedly denied requests for longer-term housing despite never responding to any of our remediation estimates.”
Theme 6: Crushing Health Impacts from State Farm’s Actions The relentless stress State Farm has inflicted is devastating people’s health. 
  • “My mom has lost 20 pounds, she can’t sleep, and her hair is falling out. Not because of the biggest disaster in California’s history, but because of State Farm’s bad faith.”
  • “This isn’t just red tape. It’s a slow, grinding cruelty. It’s sleepless nights, strain on our marriage, and a future on hold. We should not have to fight this hard just to be treated with basic human decency.”
Theme 7: Survivors Demand Lara Hold State Farm Accountable Survivors are begging state leaders to step in and enforce the law. 
  • “When a company offers a service for a price, then delays, obstructs, and denies rightful claims, then it is a fraudulent enterprise. The government should prosecute State Farm for their Ponzi scheme.”
  • “The fact that Lara is even considering a rate hike while State Farm delays, denies, and underpays shows corruption at every level — and a system that serves only State Farm’s profiteering off our loss.”
Only by standing together and shining a light on what’s happening can we secure the insurance payouts our families are owed. We're grateful to the 20,000 Americans who've signed our demand to California’s leaders. 
 
 
 

 EFSN Swag Shop is Open! 
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Official merch is live! Our shirts and hats proudly declare ‘Don’t Mess with Fire Survivors,’ and every purchase supports Eaton Fire recovery efforts. Share the shop with friends and family who want to stand in solidarity. Shop here.

With love, determination, and solidarity,
Your Eaton Fire Survivors Network Team

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