Tyler Perry
(Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)Tyler Perry hit out at insurance companies that implemented policy changes ahead of the wildfires that have devastated the greater Los Angeles area.
“Watching a girl use a garden hose to protect her 90-year-old parents’ house because their insurance was canceled was just shocking to me,” Perry wrote on Instagram on Sunday, January 12.
“Does anyone else find it appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars from communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies on people they got rich off of?” the director continued. “People who have paid premiums their whole lives are left with nothing because of pure greed.”
He concluded: “While I’m in the process of trying to figure out what steps I need to take to do everything I can to help as much as I can, I’m keeping everyone in my prayers.”
According to Los Angeles TimesState Farm General, California’s largest home insurer, announced in March 2024 that it would not renew 30,000 home and condominium policies when they expired — 1,600 of which were in Pacific Palisades.
According to Timesinsurance company Chubb stopped writing new policies for high-value homes designated as high-risk for fires, while Allstate also stopped writing new policies.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by wildfires that began a path of destruction through Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, Jan. 7, when strong winds fanned fast-moving fires across the Pacific Palisades. The fires have since spread to surrounding neighborhoods, including Malibu and the Hollywood Hills.
According to local authorities, the death toll has reached at least 16 people and is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. NBC News reports that the fire has burned 37,000 acres and destroyed over 12,000 structures.
Over 150,000 people have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders, including stars like Mark Hamill, Jennie Garth AND Mandy Moore. However, a number of celebrities were not so lucky as their homes were completely destroyed by the fires, including Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, Heidi Montag AND Spencer Pratt, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson AND Milo Ventimiglia.
According to AccuWeather, the wildfires could be the costliest in US history, with the total economic loss currently estimated to be between $135 billion and $150 billion as of Thursday, January 9.
Check the LAFD website for local fire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.