California FAIR Plan continues denying smoke damage claims despite court loss and regulatory action

By Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times

Despite a court loss and sanctioning by state regulators, California’s home insurer of last resort continues to deny smoke damage claims from the January wildfires — even when toxic substances have been found in homes, according to a Times review of denial letters.

The California FAIR Plan Assn. has rebuffed policyholders seeking to have their smoke-damaged homes remediated through professional cleaning or the replacement of structures and fixtures such as drywall, insulation and lighting, the half dozen letters and email exchanges sent during July and August show.

In denying the claims, the plan initially cited language deemed illegal by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in a landmark June decision that had required policyholders to sh