Insurance commissioner criticized for trip to Bermuda

(The Center Square) – California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is facing criticism over his trip to Bermuda during efforts to recover from the Los Angeles County wildfires.

Lara's trip meant he wasn't available to testify March 12 in Sacramento at the first state Senate hearing on insurance after the wildfires. Two Department of Insurance officials testified on his behalf, according to the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

"I think most Californians, especially those who are currently trying to recover from the tragedies in Los Angeles, would hope the insurance commissioner would be here at home helping them recover from those tragedies, not off on a junket in Bermuda," said Carmen Barber, the executive director of Consumer Watchdog, speaking on CBS Los Angeles.

Lara is not the first elected official to face criticism over leaving the country during or after the fires. There's an effort by Pacific Palisades residents and others to recall Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after her trip to Ghana when the fires broke out in January.

Lara traveled last week to speak at the Bermuda Risk Summit, an insurance conference. His office said the trip was important because 40% of the world's reinsurance companies, including those covering residents affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County, are based in Bermuda.

At the March 10-12 summit, Lara reported the Los Angeles County wildfires caused between $28 billion and $58 billion in insured damage, according to Bermuda Reinsurance Magazine.

The insurance commissioner said more than 30,000 claims had been filed since the January fires and noted more than 15,000 structures were destroyed, the magazine reported. He praised insurers for paying out $7 billion in claims during the seven weeks after the fire.

One million people were displaced by the fires, Lara said in Bermuda, a British territory of islands 600 miles east of North Carolina.

Lara reportedly plans to testify Wednesday before an Assembly committee, according to the Sun.

The scrutiny over Lara's trip comes after his provisional approval Friday of State Farm's request to raise property insurance rates by 22%. The commissioner said the insurer would have to justify its rates with data it provides in a public hearing.