Green blasts State Farm for refusing to settle Maui claims

In addition to addressing sea-level rise and climate change, Gov. Josh Green now wants income from a proposed visitor impact fee to help the state provide its own insurance to victims of future disasters following the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires.

Green called out the insurance industry’s “terrible, terrible greed” for holding up a proposed $4.037 billion “global settlement” that would resolve over 650 claims and lawsuits in the aftermath of the wildfire that killed 102 people and destroyed nearly 4,000 structures, most of them homes.

“They’ve been running roughshod over communities for decades,” Green said.

He praised local attorneys for being willing to give up the right of their insurance company clients to sue those ultimately responsible — including the state — in order to reach a settlement because “it was for the good of the community” by getting settlement money into the hands of Maui victims over three years, beginning in 2025.

But Green repeatedly told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser editorial board on Wednesday that he blames mainland lawyers representing State Farm Insurance for demanding to be able to sue to recoup their insurance payouts.

“They don’t care about Hawaii at all,” Green said. “They just want their money.”

Among several names, he called State Farm “greedy” and “ruthless” and more interested in profits than helping Maui victims become “whole.”

He accused the company of wanting to pursue lawsuits to maintain “massive profits” and “giant profits.”

In the aftermath of the Maui wildfires, Green said that State Farm “didn’t suffer. They’re just not making as many billions. … State Farm would be wise to settle this.”

If not, Green said State Farm should expect him to continue to complain to the media for months to come about its unwillingness to help its policyholders on Maui come to a settlement that would help them rebuild.

“Holding up recovery is a very large deal for me as governor and I’m going to push hard,” Green said. “They have an opportunity to do right by us.”

State Farm representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

In a statement to the Star-Advertiser Thursday, State Farm said: “State Farm is committed to helping our customers in Hawaii continue to recover from the August 8, 2023 wildfires. To date, State Farm has paid out over a quarter of a billion dollars over approximately 2,370 catastrophe claims from the HI wildfires. State Farm is one of over 160 insurance companies involved in the subrogation lawsuit related to the wildfires. Subrogation is a cornerstone of how insurance works as it allows an insurer to recover amounts paid for a covered loss from the party that caused the loss. This can include reimbursement of customer paid deductibles. We will continue to participate in the litigation fairly focusing on what is in the best, long-term interest of our customers.

State Farm is only seeking recovery of funds we have or expect to pay, not the billions of dollars cited in the story. State Farm is not part of the suit involving the State of Hawaii or Maui County. Our litigation includes only those who caused the fires that left so many Hawaiians without their homes. Our efforts support our ongoing commitment to pay claims fairly and promptly and to be there for our customers when they need us the most.”

As Hawaii tourism numbers continue to climb following the COVID-19 pandemic, state legislators are expected to again consider the possibility of charging tourists a special fee that was originally intended to offset their impacts on the environment and help the state respond to climate change.

The idea remains popular in a state of 1.4 million people who pushed back against the record-setting 10 million tourists who visited just before the pandemic hit in 2020.

Last session, legislators liked the idea of a new tourism fee in concept but could not agree on how much to charge — or how — and pledged to revisit the idea when the next session begins in January.

Now Green wants to use the potential income to help the state borrow money to provide its own disaster insurance for local residents and businesses through a “captive insurance” program he wants to develop on a large scale.

The state’s ongoing mitigation efforts to prevent future wildfire disasters through fire and smoke sensors and fire breaks also would make it easier for the state to leverage a steady stream of tourism fees to buy its own insurance to help provide policies for Hawaii residents and businesses, Green said.

So far, over 160 insurance companies have paid out $2.3 billion in claims to Maui victims, with expectations of another $1 billion in payments.

State Farm has been involved in each step of mediation that led to the tentative “global settlement” on Aug. 2, Green said.

“They made offer after offer after offer, all of which were gigantic demands,” Green said.

The insurance industry initially wanted $65 billion, then $30 billion, $12 billion and then $7 billion in the settlement, Green said.

“I’m crying foul,” he said. “… It’s really toxic from my perspective.”

Under the proposed settlement, Hawaiian Electric would pay $1.99 billion, Kamehameha Schools would pay $872.5 million and the state would pay around $750 million. Amounts by Maui County and three other defendants — West Maui Land Co., Spectrum Oceanic LLC and Hawaiian Telcom — have not been disclosed, but add up to about $400 million.

“Mainland attorneys (representing the insurance industry) want to claw back 40% of the total settlement,” Green said.

Green blamed the industry for not anticipating payouts to Maui residents and businesses, especially after a previous Maui brush fire in August 2018 burned 2,000 acres, 30 vehicles and 21 structures.

Like last year, the 2018 fire also was driven by high winds from the remnants of a hurricane.

“The fact that they didn’t get it right is on them,” Green said.

The state has joined plaintiffs’ attorneys in asking Maui’s 2nd Circuit Chief Judge Peter Cahill to ask the state Supreme Court to enforce Cahill’s ruling preventing insurance companies from pursuing damages directly from Hawaiian Electric, the state, Kamehameha Schools and Maui County.

Cahill is scheduled to consider the request today.

Green hopes the Supreme Court agrees with Cahill, which would have implications for the insurance industry locally, nationally and globally, Green said.