Six of the country’s biggest home insurers have been asked to explain how often they close claims without paying. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley sent each company a letter dated October 2, 2026, and asked for answers by October 16. The letters ask questions. Nothing has been found against any of the six, no violation is alleged, and no investigation has been announced.

Who got the letters and what the senators asked

The companies are State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Liberty Mutual and American Family. Warren is the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and the letters are posted on the committee’s site. The letter to American Family says the senators request responses “no later than October 16, 2026.” The letter to Allstate carries the same date and deadline.

Each letter puts seven questions to the company. They ask for ten years of yearly counts of claims paid and not paid, broken down by type of loss and reason. They ask how many denied claims were appealed and how many of those were later paid or reversed. They ask what has driven the rise in unpaid claims, what has changed in claims-handling rules since 2015, whether adjusters or managers earn incentive pay tied to payment, loss ratio or denial numbers, how the company uses artificial intelligence or other automated tools, and whether it will commit to publishing claims data every year.

What does this mean for a homeowner whose own claim was closed with no check? Nothing in the letters changes that claim, reopens it or sets up a way to file with the senators. A policyholder in that spot still has the same two steps as before: ask the insurer in writing for its reason and its internal review, and if that fails, file a complaint with the state insurance department. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says those departments investigate complaints about claim delays and denials for free.

The next date in this story is October 16, when the senators want the six insurers’ answers, and what the companies send back, or decline to send, is the next thing that will be reported.

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The numbers that prompted the questions

The Allstate letter cites a Wall Street Journal report that found Allstate and several other companies together did not pay 44 percent of home insurance claims resolved in the prior year, up from 36 percent ten years earlier. It adds that later reporting found auto insurers did not pay 45 percent of auto liability and medical claims in the prior year, up from about 35 percent in 2016. Those are the senators’ citations of press findings, not figures the insurers have confirmed.

“Closed without payment” does not always mean denied. State Farm told Insurance Journal in an emailed statement that every claim is evaluated on the facts and the coverage purchased, and that a claim can close without payment when the loss is below the deductible or the customer withdraws it. A USAA spokesman said the outcome can come from a range of circumstances and that the company’s focus is on handling claims fairly, promptly and with care. Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual and American Family did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Why the deadline is not a ruling

The senators sent a request, and the companies can answer it, answer part of it or let it pass. Warren holds the ranking member’s seat, which is the top post for the minority party on the committee, not the chair. A homeowner with a stalled claim should not wait for October 16 to act: policies set their own time limits for appeals, so read the denial letter for the date.

Appealing a home claim that was closed without payment

Start with the insurer. Ask in writing why the claim was closed, which policy terms it relied on, and how to request a review of the decision. Keep a dated log of every call, email and letter with the adjuster, including the time and the name of the person you spoke to. The NAIC’s complaint guide recommends that log and says to try the insurer first.

If the answer is still no, file with your state insurance department. The NAIC says filing is free, and most departments take complaints online, by mail or by phone. The form usually asks for your name, address, the type of insurance and the reason for the complaint. Have the policy number, repair estimates, photos, bills and the insurer’s letters ready, write a factual account with dates, use the policy’s own language where you can, and say what outcome you want. Every state’s department is listed in the NAIC’s state directory.

The senators are asking about unpaid claims across a whole company. A state insurance department is where one household’s claim gets looked at, and the NAIC says departments can investigate complaints about claim delays and denials at no cost.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.