Vice President Harris on Wednesday condemned insurance companies and misinformation in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Speaking at the National Action Network’s (NAN) annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, Harris, who was born in Oakland and has a home in Brentwood, said she saw a pattern from insurance companies from both the wildfires and last year’s hurricane season.
“There are a couple things going on that I see as patterns. One is about what the insurance companies are not doing to extend coverage,” said Harris. “They are canceling coverage, making it more difficult for young homeowners who are just buying their home. Not even insuring them.”
Last March, companies including State Farm General, the largest home insurance company in California, announced they would not be renewing thousands of home insurance policies in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other high-risk areas. Insurance companies have argued it is too costly to provide coverage in natural disaster-prone areas.
Harris on Wednesday also said that many of the devastating events are predictable, emphasizing that “climate change is real” and disproportionately devastating Black communities and other communities of color.
“You’re talking about generations of families that have lived there,” said Harris. “Some of the first hard working Black families who are able to buy property in California and then pass down those homes through generations, many of those families who live in those homes and live intergenerationally within a block of each other who have lost everything.”
Studies have shown that Black Americans are more likely to suffer lasting effects of natural disasters that impact their housing, income and transportation.
Harris added that another pattern she is seeing in the wake of these disasters has been the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
She pointed to false claims that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) teams were not providing resources or assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, some of which President-elect Trump promoted on social media and during the 2024 campaign.
“When people are being told there will be no FEMA response, you are not entitled to this or that or leading them astray with information that is misinformation about what they will be entitled to which exceeds what it might be and then they feel disappointed, they turn the whole system off,” Harris said.
Harris then called on those gathered at Wednesday’s breakfast to continue advocating for communities historically and disproportionately affected.
“Let’s use the voice of NAN in a way that lifts up what these moments of tragedy and these extreme weather events are doing to the communities that you have historically worked to uplift,” she said. “Dr. King taught us … ours is a journey, and the fight that we are in, which is the fight to uplift the people, the fight for freedom, the fight for civil rights, the fight for dignity, the fight for human rights, must be fought and won with each generation.”
At least 25 people have died and thousands of homes and other buildings have been reduced to cinders in the recent wildfires in and around Los Angeles.
