EFSN Launches Petition for New Insurance Leadership to Protect CA Homeowners

EFSN is launching a petition for Eaton and Palisades Fire Survivors urging Governor Newsom to take action and replace Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in order to address California’s escalating insurance crisis. A sweeping investigation revealed that Lara engaged in undisclosed luxury travel, solicited donations from companies he regulates, and held private meetings with insurers seeking rate hikes — all while failing to comply with required ethics disclosures. Records show he took at least 32 international trips, many funded by industry groups and lacking proper documentation. Despite pledging high ethical standards, Lara continued activities that raised serious concerns about undue industry influence over California’s insurance market. His policy decisions — including granting insurers faster rate hikes and weakening consumer protections — coincided with mass policy cancellations, a ballooning FAIR Plan, and widespread underinsurance for fire survivors. Critics argue that his actions favored insurers, shifted costs onto consumers, and eroded public trust at the very moment the state’s insurance system was collapsing.

Read about the travel and ethics investigation of Lara here.
Read about the insurance market collapse and L.A. fires investigation here.
Sign the EFSN petition to replace Lara here.