The Brief

Jen Egan is still dealing with the aftermath of the Palisades Fire that damaged the home of her 83-year-old father, Paul, last January.

That has meant more than a year of going back and forth with State Farm, which has assigned three different claims adjusters to their case. Egan also hired a public adjuster to help her navigate the process, who she says has been a “saving grace.”

Egan and her father have received some payouts and are preparing to make repairs to the home. But this week, they received an estimate for compensation that falls tens of thousands of dollars short of what Egan said they have already paid out of pocket to address a brush violation issued by the fire department, and to conduct soil testing.

She is growing more frustrated. “No one’s asking for a new jacuzzi,” Egan said. “We want my father to be able to return to a safe and habitable home.”

Stories like the Egans’ are all too common after last year’s deadly Los Angeles County fires. State Farm says it has paid $5 billion so far on more than 13,500 claims. But survivors express frustration over insurers’ poor and delayed communication.

State Farm customer Rebecca McGrew has no outstanding complaints about her claims after her Altadena home burned down — except that she was “drastically under-insured by hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Many others like her have realized — too late — that their insurance payouts won’t cover all of their rebuilding costs.

Survivors and community organizations that have formed after the fires have asked their local and state elected officials for help in dealing with these varied issues. Some of the bills introduced in response to survivors’ experiences include attempts to address the transparency and timeliness related to insurers’ handling of fire claims.

More stringent requirements for insurers

Senate Bill 876 is a wide-ranging bill that seeks to make various amendments to the state’s insurance code. They include getting insurance companies to share their disaster-recovery plans with the insurance department; doubling penalties from $5,000 to $10,000 for each violation of fair claims practices during declared emergencies; and requiring insurers to notify policyholders within five days when they’re assigned a new adjuster.

In addition, the legislation, proposed by new Senate Insurance Committee Chair Steve Padilla and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara:

• Expands policy limits for required payments for additional living expenses by 100% in case of a total loss. 
• Requires upfront, cash-value payments be made within 30 days of a contract to buy or rebuild a home. 
• Requires insurers to offer extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage when writing policies.
• Applies building-code upgrade coverage at the time of a rebuild.  

“People need a sense, particularly when they face tragedy, that the underwriters they’ve relied on and paid into for decades, will want to help and not get in the way (of recovery),” said Padilla, a Democrat from Chula Vista, in an interview with CalMatters.

He acknowledged that the insurance industry will have objections to his bill, but said the companies know that they need to provide adequate coverage for the health of the insurance market.

Padilla is right about the industry’s opposition. “It appears these measures would worsen the current affordability and availability crisis for Californians just as we are starting to implement the Commissioner’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy to restore a healthy and competitive market,” said Seren Taylor, vice president at Personal Insurance Federation of California, in an email.

Lara’s strategy, which went into effect last January just days before the L.A.-area fires, aims to get insurance companies to start writing policies in the state again, especially in areas at high risk of fires. Many insurers had pulled back from the state in the past few years, complaining of increasing fire risks and state regulations that they said slowed down their ability to match prices to those risks.

Tornadoes and drones

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 877 would require insurance companies to provide claims-related documents to policyholders within 15 days. Co-authored by Democratic Sens. Sasha Renée Pérez of Pasadena and Ben Allen of El Segundo, the legislation would also require insurers to disclose changes to repair estimates, who approved them and why.

Senate Bill 878 would require insurers to pay interest of 20% annually if they fail to meet deadlines for claims payments. The bill, also written by Pérez and Allen, will compel companies to submit to the state’s insurance department a report, signed by a corporate officer under penalty of perjury, that shows the company’s compliance with prompt payments requirements.

In the Assembly, lawmakers plan to introduce bills that will “continue to make sure we have oversight (of insurers),” said Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, the Los Angeles-area Democrat who also chairs the Assembly Insurance Committee, in an interview. She said she expects bills to address strengthening and modernizing the FAIR Plan, as well as mitigation efforts for natural disasters.

She mentioned that California has to deal with fires, floods, earthquakes and, last year, something rare: “Last year, we had two small tornadoes in urban Los Angeles. I can’t remember another year when it’s happened.”

A large housing development near Pittsburg on Sept, 2, 2021.

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Anne Wernikoff

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CalMatters

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Calderon is trying again to regulate insurers’ use of drone images by introducing Assembly Bill 1559. Her similar effort last year passed the Assembly and made it through some Senate committees but ultimately didn’t advance. This year’s bill would require companies to notify consumers about when they plan to take aerial images of their properties; ban insurers from ending coverage based on drone images taken more than 180 days before sending notice of that decision to policyholders; and require companies to provide the images to policyholders, allowing them to dispute accuracy and to take action if needed before having their policies terminated.

“We’ve been hearing from consumers that they’ve been blindsided by these images that were inaccurate,” she said. “I believe homeowners should have the right to request an in-person inspection.”

She also intends to introduce legislation to implement recommendations from a forthcoming report about the California Wildfire Fund that she expects to include provisions related to the availability and affordability of property insurance in the state.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

LAX officials are considering a proposal Tuesday to increase the fees rideshare companies are charged to access the airport.

Currently, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft generally pass a $4 to $5 airport fee along to their customers. You might see this listed as a line item on your receipt as an “LAX Airport Surcharge.”

But the Los Angeles World Airports Board of Commissioners could vote to increase that fee by as much as $2 to $8 depending on where the rideshare picks you up or drops you off.

The idea behind the proposal is to encourage the use of the long-awaited, much-delayed and over-budget Automated People Mover once it opens and decrease congestion in the central terminal area, the area of the airport that’s also known as the horseshoe.

David Reich, a deputy executive director for the city agency that manages the airport, told LAist that if the proposal is approved, LAX doesn’t plan on increasing the fee until after the Automated People Mover opens, which could be later this year.

The proposed increases

When the Automated People Mover opens, there will be new curb space for drop-off and pick-up. Known as the “ground transport center,” this new curb space will be a 4-minute trip from the terminal area via the Automated People Mover, according to Reich.

LAX-it will shut down as a rideshare and taxi lot once the train opens, Reich said.

If the proposal is approved, getting an Uber or Lyft to and from the ground transport center will come with a $6 airport fee.

Even once the Automated People Mover opens, you will still be able to get rides directly to and from the curbs along the horseshoe, but they will come with a $12 fee.

The proposed increases would also apply to taxi and limousine services, which currently operate under a slightly different fee structure than rideshare companies.

The increased fees are expected to generate as much as $100 million in the first year the Automated People Mover is usable, according to a report to the board.

Why the different fees for the different locations?

In a report to the board, Reich said the Automated People Mover represents a "significant investment” that aims to “fundamentally reshape how vehicles move through the airport.”

The idea behind having a higher fee for direct access to the curbs along the horseshoe is to encourage “use of new, high-capacity infrastructure” and preserve central terminal access for trips “that most require it.”

Uber is trying to fight the increases

Uber is trying to mobilize the public to fight the proposed fee increases.

“Raising the LAX rideshare fee from $5 to $12 at the curb would punish travelers, working families, and seniors who depend on affordable, reliable transportation,” Danielle Lam, the head of local California policy for Uber, said in a statement.

On Monday, Uber sent an email to passengers who recently used the rideshare service, urging them to write to city officials to “stop this massive fee hike.”

Lyft has not responded to a request for comment.

Ten state lawmakers who are members of the L.A. County delegation sent a letter on Monday to the board expressing their “strong opposition” to the proposed increases.

“Many Angelenos rely on a mix of options, including rideshare services and friends or family dropping off loved ones,” the legislators wrote in the letter. “Managing congestion cannot realistically rely on steep fee increases for certain transportation options.”

Eight of the 10 legislators who signed the letter have received campaign contributions from Uber or Lyft, according to an LAist analysis of state campaign contribution data.

Other ways to access the airport

Now is probably a good time to remind folks that there are other ways to get to the airport that don’t involve rideshares, taxis or even lifts from families and friends.

The FlyAway bus offers regularly scheduled rides from the airport to Union Station in downtown L.A. and Van Nuys. You can see the schedules here. 

Last year, the countywide transportation agency unveiled the LAX/Metro Transit center, which is accessible from the C and K rail lines and several bus routes. For now, an LAX shuttle is bringing travelers from the station to the airport. It will be one of the stops on the Automated People Mover once it opens.

The Newport Beach City Council is considering demolishing part of its quirky, beloved sculpture garden in Civic Center Park to make way for a new police station.

The city has been trying to figure out how to replace its aging police headquarters for years. It bought a property in 2022 with that intent. But an ad hoc City Council committee decided, controversially, it might be better to instead build a new station on the parkland next to city hall.

What’s so great about the sculpture garden?

The sculpture garden is a “museum without walls” treasured by art and nature lovers alike. It houses the quirky and once-controversial “Bunnyhenge,” included on the popular Atlas Obscura travel guide. Opponents of putting a new police headquarters on park grounds say it would compromise the environment, and decimate the sculpture garden.

What do supporters of the new station idea say?

Supporters say the current police station, built in 1973, is long overdue for an upgrade, and that the police force needs more space for things like servers to store digital evidence. The council ad hoc committee that studied the issue says the Civic Center parkland makes the most sense for a new building because the city already owns the land, and it would consolidate the city’s main services in one place.

Is it a done deal?

Far from it. The City Council is holding a study session Tuesday to present the plan publicly and gather input. If the council decides to go forward, the next step would be to hire a consultant to design the building and get started on an environmental impact report.

Here’s how to learn more and weigh in:

A new exhibit in L.A. — Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard — arrives this weekend, highlighting the cultural impact, history and artistry of handmade skateboards.

It’s the latest exhibit at Craft in America Center, a museum and library that highlights handcrafted artwork.

Todd Huber, skateboard historian and founder of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, said before 1962, it wasn’t possible to buy a skateboard in a store.

“Skateboarding started as a craft,” Huber said on AirTalk, LAst 89.3’s daily news program. “Somewhere in the 50s until 1962, if you wanted to sidewalk surf, as they called it, you had to make your own out of roller skates.”

What to expect

Emily Zaiden, the director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center based in Los Angeles, told LAist’s AirTalk the exhibit was tricky to curate.

“What we wanted to do was focus on both the history and then expand into how this has been an object that people have interpreted in so many different ways since the very beginning,” Zaiden said.

Artists who craft skateboards not only think of design, but also of the features that give riders the ability to do tricks, such as wheelies and kickflips.

“The ways that people have constructed boards, engineered boards, design boards … people are really renegade, which I think is really the spirit of skateboarding overall,” Zaiden said. “This very independent, out-of-the-box approach and making boards that allow them to do all kinds of wacky tricks and do all kinds of things that no one imagined possible physically with their body, but through the object of the board.”

Know before you go

The exhibit at Craft in America Center opens to the public on Saturday. Admission is free. The museum is open from noon to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.