As the Super Bowl draws near, companies are gearing up to unveil their most exciting ads for sports fans and consumers. State Farm, however, won’t be one of those companies.
The price for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial can top out at $7 million. Instead, the insurance giant says they will focus on helping those impacted by the ongoing wildfire crisis in Southern California.
A spokesperson for the company said, “Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles. We will not be advertising during the game as originally planned.”
The decision comes shortly after State Farm offered renewals to policyholders affected by the Los Angeles County fires. The announcement reversed its initial plans last March to not renew 30,000 property policies in California last year. It included 69% of policies in the Pacific Palisades area –– which has been ravaged by the fires since Jan. 7.
At the time, State Farm cited increasing construction costs and an increasing frequency of natural disasters, including wildfires that pose a major risk to policyholders, for the decision to drop coverage.
Right now, more than 170,000 people still remain under evacuation orders. Officials say they must remove hazardous materials before residents can safely return.
Thanks to calmer winds over the past few days, firefighters are making headway against two major blazes in Los Angeles. The Palisades Fire, which is still the largest, has burned nearly 24,000 acres, while the Eaton Fire is 65% contained and has consumed more than 14,000 acres.
As of Friday, Jan. 17, State Farm says they received over 8,300 home and auto claims in affected areas. The insurance giant also says they have paid out over $50 million to policyholders who have filed claims since the fires began.
The company expects this number to rise once evacuation orders are lifted and residents can assess the damage to their properties.