Consumer Watchdog's New Episode of Smoke & Mirrors Explores Why Fire Survivors Want California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Out

Here’s why L.A. fire survivors want Ricardo Lara’s resignation

A New York Times investigation recently revealed that California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara struck a secret deal with insurance companies, giving them regulatory favors while allowing them to dump tens of thousands of policyholders. It was a bombshell. But for those of us living through this crisis, it wasn’t news. As survivors of the Los Angeles fires, we’ve spent 10 months inside the collapse of California’s insurance system. In a sur…

Consumer Watchdog's New Episode of Smoke & Mirrors Explores Why Fire Survivors Want California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Out

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest episode of Consumer Watchdog's podcast series Smoke & Mirrors explores how a backdoor agreement between California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and major insurance companies led to a wave of dropped policies before 2025's catastrophic LA fires. The 4th episode, "How One Regulator Made California's Fire Recovery Harder," discusses a recent ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

LA fire victims are rapidly depleting their insurance and savings, but the government just handed them a catastrophic new setback that proves cruelty is the point

A crucial plan intended to coordinate the massive rebuilding effort in Los Angeles following the devastating January fires has completely collapsed, leaving thousands of victims scrambling as their insurance and savings rapidly disappear, as per Politico. Nearly a year after the twin blazes destroyed 16,000 structures and claimed 31 lives, the failure of the proposed Resilient Rebuilding Authority highlights a severe lack of cohesive leadership …

Farmers’ Filing Exhibit A for Loopholes in Lara Plan: Shows Net Loss of 15,000 Policies In Distressed Areas And 59,000 Policies Overall In Exchange for Up To 65% Rate Hike

Los Angeles, CA – The recent filing from Farmers Insurance under Insurance Commissioner Lara’s “Sustainable Insurance Strategy” is the poster child for the loopholes in the plan, allowing the company to hike rates steeply without increasing overall policy levels, according to Consumer Watchdog. While claiming to increase the number of policies in “distressed” areas by […] The post Farmers’ Filing Exhibit A for Loopholes in Lara Plan: Shows Net L…