Trump joins critics of State Farm over wildfire claims
President pledges a federal probe of insurers' handling of California fire claims as administration cuts disaster aid.
Add President Donald Trump to the list of government officials critical of State Farm and other insurance companies.
Trump said yesterday that State Farm and the others did not give adequate help for claims related to last year's California wildfires. Trump pledged that the government would investigate the issue.
Writing on a semi-official government web site, Trump said: "Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!"
He continued: "State Farm, and others, should get their act together, and treat people fairly. The Government is looking into this matter as we speak!"
State Farm reacted by pointing to its website, outlining its response to the fires. The page states that the company paid more than $5.7 billion related to 13,700 claims and that its total payments could reach $7 billion.
But it is not clear what such a probe would accomplish, according to the website The Hill.
In addition to burning property, last January's wildfires killed at least 31 people, though one study estimates that the real death toll is at least 440.
Trump's comments come as he and his administration have sought to reduce the share that the federal government is paying out for disasters.