Willscot Mobile Mini (NASDAQ:WSC) stock climbed 3.6% mid-day Thursday, following news that the Trump administration is negotiating with the company to lease its mobile units for immigration-related purposes.
The rise in stock value appears to be a direct response to reports from Semfor that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in talks with the Phoenix-based company to provide temporary spaces for housing and processing a significant number of migrants awaiting deportation. Willscot, known for its mobile structures typically used on construction sites for storage and office space, could see an increase in business should the deal go through.
California’s largest home insurer asked the state’s insurance department for a 22 percent emergency rate hike Feb. 3 after receiving thousands of claims following Los Angeles County’s catastrophic wildfires last month.
“State Farm helps people recover from the unexpected,” the company wrote in a press release Monday. “That is what we are doing in the wake of the wildfires.”
As of Saturday, the company had received more than 8,700 homeowners claims and paid more than $1 billion to customers after the Palisades and Eaton fires that started Jan. 7.
The fires killed at least 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other buildings in what is expected to be the costliest fire in California’s history.
Damages and economic losses from the fires are expected to reach more than $250 billion, surpassing fire losses for the entire 2020 wildfire season in California, according to an AccuWeather estimate.
State Farm expects to ultimately pay out significantly more, as collectively these fires will be the costliest disasters in the history of the company, according to the statement.
The insurer asked the California Department of Insurance to immediately approve interim rate increases to help avert a “dire situation” for more than 2.8 million state policy holders, including 1 million State Farm homeowner customers.
If approved, the rate changes would be effective after May 1 for customers who renew their policies, according to the company.
“Insurance will cost more for customers in California going forward because the risk is greater in California,” State Farm wrote in the statement.
The rate increase would help State Farm to rebuild its capital, which is currently depleted, according to the company. A lack of capital could cause rating agencies to downgrade the company and jeopardize the company’s home insurance policy holders regarding mortgage backings, it said.
Over the last nine years, the company claims it has spent $1.26 for every $1 collected, resulting in more than $5 billion in underwriting losses.
State Farm was granted a rate increase by the state’s insurance department in January 2024 of 20 percent per homeowner for renewals.
The company announced in 2023 it planned to stop accepting new business for casualty and property insurance but would continue to write new auto policies in the state.
Another large insurer, Allstate, also stopped issuing new policies for commercial and residential properties. Other insurers also joined the group, blaming the state’s restrictive regulations that limited rate increases.
The state’s insurance department did not immediately return a request for comment about State Farm’s emergency rate hike Monday.
Government red tape means it could take up to 18 months to clear the ash and debris from the charred remains of homes that were burned in theLos Angeles wildfires.
A federal program will pay contractors to haul away the rubble at no cost to residents, but they’ll have to work through layers of bureaucracy — including the Los Angeles County government, the federal Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency — to get it done.
That means that even through the wildfires have finally been contained, devastated Los Angeles homeowners can either pay out of pocket for the costly removal — or potentially wait more than a year before they can finally rebuild, authorities said.
Meanwhile, unlicensed contractors and scam artist landlords are coming out of the woodwork to prey on victims, officials warned.
A hazardous waste management crew surveys debris at the ruins of a Pacific Palisades house.ZUMAPRESS.com
The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire had wiped out around 12,000 homes, businesses and other buildings before fire crews finally contained the infernos.
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Residents have been forced to don hazmat suits to dig through potentially toxic ash in search of valuables, mementos, and, in one at least one case, the remains of a beloved family dog.\
At the same time, the EPA is going lot-by-lot sweeping the ruins for potentially hazardous materials such as paint, batteries and pesticides.
But before anyone can actually rebuild their homes, the rest of the rubble will need to be cleared away — and that’s where things get complicated.
Theoretically, the Army Corps of Engineers, acting on behalf of the EPA, will hire contractors to perform this service at no cost to residents, either sending the bill to insurance companies or footing it themselves.
The Army Corps of Engineers with hire private contractors to clear debris.APEX / MEGA
But opting into this service requires a long, bureaucratic process conducted by multiple agencies that is full of paperwork and red tape.
First, a homeowner must submit a right of entry form to the county, which completes a review process before granting access to the Army Corps of Engineers, which then hires a contractor, which then makes contact with the homeowner for approval to survey the lot.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation directing $2.5 billion toward fire recovery.AFP via Getty Images
That process can take months to even begin if a property owner listed on a deed has died or trustees are unavailable to fill out the paperwork, Col. Eric Swenson, who is heading the Corps’ response, told the New York Times.
“I don’t want to make it sound like that’s the majority,” Swenson told the outlet. “Those are outliers, but they exist in every fire.”
Still, officials estimate that one in five properties could take longer than a year to get cleaned up, and it could be 18 months before all of the sites have been cleared.
“That’s a long time to wait for these governmental agencies to do their thing,” Kimberly Bloom, 65, told the Times.
Utility workers repair city infrastructure in the fire zone.APEX / MEGA
Bloom and her husband’s Pacific Palisades home was totally destroyed, and they’ve turned to private contractors to get the job done — even though it will cost them far more than their insurance covers.
To make matters worse, they’ll have to watch out for unlicensed, scam contractors who prey on desperate victims.
In one common scam, unlicensed contractors go door-to-door claiming to “just be in the neighborhood” or have “leftover materials,” offer repair work at an impossible bargain, but then ask for cash upfront or hefty down payments for repairs, one presentation by the LA Department of Business and Consumer Affairs warned.
Other scams include swapping expensive materials for cheap stuff, drumming up other issues to repair after work begins, and absconding with a homeowner’s money before the job is done.
Workers came out in bulk to begin early stages of cleanup.APEX / MEGA
As they wait for the machinery of government to clear their properties, fire evacuees are struggling to find places to stay — and greedy landlords are making out like bandits.
Some landlords havejacked up rentsby more than double, despite a California law that forbids increasing rent by more than 10% during times of emergency.
So far, two landlords have been charged with price gouging after they tried to shake down fire evacuee families for more than 50% of the original listing price, the state attorney general’s office said.
