Keosian Law Practice Areas

Wildfire Insurance Bad Faith Lawyer

California policyholders deserve a carrier that pays what the policy actually owes — not lowball offers after a fire.

Call Now: (866) 222-2020

Overview

After a California wildfire, the most important relationship for most families is the one with their insurance carrier. When that carrier delays the claim, denies coverage, or pays a fraction of what it actually costs to rebuild, replace contents, and live somewhere safe during reconstruction, the law calls it what it is — a breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Keosian Law LLP represents California homeowners, renters, condominium owners, landlords, and business owners in wildfire insurance bad faith disputes against private carriers and the California FAIR Plan.

This is a California-specific practice area. We do not handle wildfire bad faith claims outside of California, and we focus our wildfire intake on the communities affected by recent California fires — including Simi Valley, Bell Canyon, Box Canyon, and surrounding Ventura County areas impacted by the Sandy Fire; Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Topanga following the Palisades Fire; Altadena and Pasadena after the Eaton Canyon Fire; and other California wildfire footprints.

Initial consultations are free and confidential. No attorney fees or costs unless we recover for you.

Who May Qualify

You may have a wildfire insurance bad faith claim in California if any of the following apply to your situation. Whether bad faith has actually occurred depends on the specific facts, the policy language, and the carrier's conduct — but each of these scenarios is worth a free review:

  • Your California homeowners, renters, condominium, landlord, or commercial property policy covered the loss but the carrier denied the claim in whole or in part.
  • The carrier acknowledged coverage but the payment is far below the actual cost to repair, replace, or rebuild.
  • The carrier has delayed acceptance or denial well beyond California's statutory timelines without a reasonable explanation.
  • Smoke, soot, ash, or contents damage was inspected only superficially or written off without testing or remediation estimates.
  • Additional living expense (ALE) benefits were cut off before your home is reasonably habitable or rebuilt.
  • The California FAIR Plan closed your wildfire claim without a thorough inspection or paid an amount that does not match independent estimates.
  • You feel pressured to sign a release, recorded statement, or proof-of-loss form you do not understand.

Types of Losses Carriers Underpay After a Wildfire

California wildfire losses are layered. When carriers focus only on the most obvious structural damage, policyholders are often left short on the categories that matter most during a long rebuild:

  • Dwelling and structural rebuild: Replacement cost vs. actual cash value disputes, code-upgrade coverage, foundation, framing, and detached structures.
  • Smoke, soot, and ash contamination: Carriers frequently dispute whether visible and invisible smoke residues require professional remediation. See our smoke and ash damage page for more.
  • Contents: Inventory disputes, depreciation, scheduled personal property, jewelry, art, business equipment, and irreplaceable items.
  • Additional living expenses (ALE): Hotel, rental housing, mileage, food differential, pet boarding, and storage for the reasonable rebuild period.
  • Business interruption: Lost income, payroll, fixed costs, and extra expense for impacted California businesses.
  • Landscaping, fencing, pools, and outbuildings: Often capped or excluded; the calculation matters.
  • Loss of use of rental income: For landlords and short-term rental owners.
  • Diminished property value: Where applicable under the policy and the law.

For a broader look at the underlying property damage categories, see fire damage insurance claims.

Evidence Checklist

Bad faith cases are won and lost on documentation. Bring or save whatever you have — even partial records help us evaluate your file. The most useful items typically include:

  • Your declarations page and the full insurance policy (homeowners, renters, condo, landlord, business, FAIR Plan, or excess).
  • All written correspondence with the carrier — letters, emails, and the claim portal history.
  • Names, dates, and notes from every phone call with the adjuster or carrier representative.
  • Inspection reports, estimates, and scope-of-loss documents the carrier produced.
  • Independent estimates from contractors, restoration companies, or industrial hygienists, if any.
  • Photographs and video of the property before and after the fire, including smoke and ash deposits.
  • A written inventory of damaged contents with approximate purchase dates and replacement values.
  • Receipts for ALE expenses — hotel, rental, mileage, food differential, storage, pet boarding.
  • Evacuation notices, road closure records, and any communications from local authorities.

If documents are missing or were lost in the fire, we can often help reconstruct the record from carrier files, public records, and third-party data.

Common Insurance Issues After California Wildfires

Policyholders across recent California wildfires have reported a recurring set of carrier conduct issues. Any of the following can support a bad faith investigation:

  • Acceptance or denial decisions delayed well past California's 40-day statutory deadline.
  • Repeated requests for documents that were previously provided.
  • Inspections performed by adjusters or vendors who lack wildfire experience.
  • Refusal to test for smoke, soot, or ash contamination — and refusal to pay for independent testing.
  • Use of aggressive or improper depreciation to reduce actual-cash-value payments.
  • Premature termination of ALE before the home is reasonably habitable or rebuilt.
  • Pressure to accept a final payment that does not cover the actual rebuild cost.
  • FAIR Plan claim closures without thorough inspection or written explanation.
  • Carrier reliance on policy exclusions that do not actually apply to the loss.

When this conduct crosses the line into unreasonable, it can support claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing — see our overview of California insurance bad faith law.

Why Keosian Law LLP for Wildfire Bad Faith Claims

  • California focused. Our wildfire practice is built around California policyholders, California carriers, the California FAIR Plan, and California regulators.
  • Trial-ready posture. Every file is worked up as if it will go to trial, which is what changes carrier behavior in serious wildfire disputes.
  • No Fees or Costs Unless We Recover: No attorney fees or costs unless we recover for you.
  • Connected to our wildfire mass tort practice. We coordinate insurance disputes with our active wildfire investigations, including the Sandy Fire, Palisades Fire, Eaton Canyon Fire, and Woolsey Fire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about our legal services and processes.

In California, an insurance company has a duty of good faith and fair dealing to investigate, evaluate, and pay covered wildfire claims promptly and fairly. When a carrier unreasonably delays, denies, or underpays a wildfire claim — or fails to thoroughly investigate dwelling, contents, smoke, ash, or additional living expense (ALE) losses — its conduct may give rise to a bad faith claim in addition to the contract benefits owed under the policy.

California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations require carriers to acknowledge a claim within 15 days and accept or deny it within 40 days of receiving proof of loss. Unexplained delays, repeated requests for documents you have already provided, and failure to assign a knowledgeable adjuster can all support a bad faith claim. A California wildfire bad faith lawyer can review the timeline and tell you whether the conduct was unreasonable.

Yes. Underpayment is one of the most common forms of wildfire bad faith. Carriers routinely apply aggressive depreciation, lowball replacement cost estimates, dispute smoke and ash damage, or refuse to extend ALE for the full reasonable rebuild period. Accepting an initial payment does not waive your right to pursue the remaining benefits.

Yes. The California FAIR Plan is the state-mandated insurer of last resort and is subject to the same statutory and common-law obligations as private insurers. Policyholders have reported FAIR Plan delays, smoke and ash claim denials, and inadequate inspections following recent California wildfires. We investigate FAIR Plan claims on the same contingency basis as private-carrier disputes.

When a carrier acts in bad faith, a policyholder may recover the contract benefits owed under the policy, consequential damages caused by the wrongful conduct, emotional distress damages, attorney's fees incurred to recover the policy benefits (under Brandt v. Superior Court), and — where the facts support it — punitive damages.

California sets strict deadlines for insurance disputes — often one to two years depending on the policy, claim type, and date of loss. Wildfire policy provisions and statutory deadlines can be shorter than ordinary contract claims. The sooner you have an attorney review your file, the more options you preserve.

Nothing. Initial consultations are free and confidential. No attorney fees or costs unless we recover for you.
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"After our basement flooded, our insurance company offered only a fraction of what was needed. Keosian Law stepped in and negotiated a settlement that covered everything."

Michael J.

Sherman Oaks, CA

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