California orders lenders to report on their handling of insurance payouts to LA fire survivors

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California officials on Thursday ordered mortgage lenders, including banks and credit unions, to report on how they have handled insurance payouts to survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires.The California Business and Consumer Services Agency and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation seek to speed up the release of insurance proceeds that lenders hold before distributing them to homeowners. DFPI has received more than 160 complaints about payment delays or other issues since January 2025. The state is giving lenders two weeks to submit their reports.“It’s unacceptable that after running through a gauntlet of paperwork to file insurance claims, some wildfire survivors still have not gotten access to the funds they need to rebuild,” said Rohit Chopra, secretary of the Business and Consumer Services Agency.The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other structures as they tore through residential neighborhoods in and