The California Insurance Safety-Net System That Lost a Million-Dollar Check

Susan Spira called her insurer days after the Los Angeles wildfires destroyed her family’s home—only to be told her policy had been canceled. The reason: In the chaotic days after the house burned to the ground, her monthly premium hadn’t been paid.

“I nearly fell apart,” she said. Spira, a real-estate lawyer, fought back and the insurer, California’s Fair Plan, agreed her Pacific Palisades house was covered when the infernos sparked.