CALIFORNIA — President Donald Trump criticized insurance companies' handling of claims from the January 2025 California wildfires in a Truth Social post in early February 2026, singling out State Farm and directing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to compile lists of insurers based on their responsiveness to victims.

"It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!" Trump posted. He asked Zeldin to provide him with a list of insurers that "acted swiftly, courageously, and bravely" to fulfill their legal obligation and another list of insurers that were "particularly bad."

State Farm, the largest home insurer in California, is under investigation for how it handled January 2025 wildfire claims. Los Angeles County opened a probe on November 13, 2025, into the company's claims practices. The company has received 13,700 claims related to the wildfires, paid out $5.7 billion, and expects total payments could reach $7 billion. State Farm General Insurance Company said, "Our leadership position in the California homeowners insurance marketplace means State Farm General Insurance Company — the State Farm company that provides homeowners insurance in California — insured more people impacted by this disaster than anyone else."

Victims of the January 2025 wildfires, unhappy with how insurers handled their claims, have filed lawsuits, protested, and complained to local and state officials. On February 3, 2026, Senator Adam Schiff and 15 members of California's congressional delegation sent a letter to major insurers demanding to know why they are subjecting Los Angeles wildfire survivors to claims reviews requiring itemized property receipts.

Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivor's Network, said, "President Trump has the opportunity to restore accountability to this broken system. Federal agencies have the tools to act." Chen called for the Federal Trade Commission to examine deceptive sales practices that have left Americans underinsured and for the Department of Justice to investigate industrywide claims practices that delay, deny, or underpay payments owed to policyholders.

On February 4, 2026, Zeldin and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler visited the Los Angeles area and met with Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Pacific Palisades fire victims. The visit was prompted by Trump's criticism of a slow rebuilding process and by an executive order allowing victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to rebuild without dealing with "unnecessary, duplicative, or obstructive" permitting requirements. Under the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, authority to regulate the insurance industry is delegated primarily to individual states.

Bass said, "I recently requested that the President intervene with the insurance companies to ensure they pay claims so that survivors can afford to rebuild." She added, "I want to thank President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin for taking action and working alongside us to help survivors get the support they need and deserve." Bass also said the president has no authority over local permitting and could assist by speeding up Federal Emergency Management Agency funding.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association noted that the wildfires were the third-worst natural disaster in American history in terms of insured losses, amounting to $40 billion. As of February 2026, the federal government had led debris cleanup and approved 12,600 Small Business Administration loans to fire victims totaling $3.2 billion.