"“fireball burning everything in its path”"
"“How can it be worth less now than it was when it was new?”"
"“They use this reductive method. It's a phony way of calculating every screw, every bolt, and coming up with a profit for State Farm by undervaluing the house.”"
William May's Pacific Palisades two‑story home was destroyed in the January 2025 L.A. wildfires. He intends to rebuild but faces a dispute with insurer State Farm over a post‑fire reconstruction estimate of $1.35 million, which he says is below the 2017 purchase value of $1.7 million. May reports accruing debt while waiting for a reassessment. Neighborhood median home values rose about 50% from $2.1 million in December 2017 to $3.076 million in December 2025, per Zillow's Home Values Index. May attributes the low estimate to the AI‑powered Xactimate software and Verisk, alleging systematic undervaluation. State Farm maintains commitment to paying policy benefits.
Read at Fast Company
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