Three months ago, Alex Markarian was elated to learn his house was still standing after the intense flames from the Palisades Fire tore through homes just across the street. 

“The house is damaged,” Markarian said. “The fire actually got very close and singed part of the house.” 

Markarian’s home was still standing, but almost everything inside was destroyed. He’s expecting his insurer of 15 years, State Farm, to pay for it. 

But three months later, he’s feeling on edge since he hasn’t seen much money come in yet and he’s concerned about the future. 

“I am worried about keeping home insurance after this is all said and done,” Markarian said. “Will State Farm, or any insurance company, still insure us and, number two, will I be able to afford that insurance?”

In January, a series of wildfires fueled by strong winds destroyed more than 16,000 homes and structures in the Los Angeles area, reducing much of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods to ash. 

State Farm, California’s largest property insurance provider, says it expects to pay out more than $7.5 billion in insurance claims. 

In an emergency hearing on Tuesday, State Farm said it needs to raise insurance rates between 15% and 38% statewide “to continue to operate in California for the long term.”

When asked if State Farm’s proposed rate increase for California is justified, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff told CBS News, “I would like to leave that to the state legislative committee, but you know, a lot of these insurance companies, I think, are looking simply to maximize their profits.”

“Right now, my focus is on making sure that people who did have insurance get their claims speedily addressed by those insurance companies, that the insurance companies aren’t going to play rope-a-dope with people who were victimized by these fires, but also that we’re making the kind of systemic changes necessary to make sure that we can afford to insure our homes and small businesses,” Schiff said.

On Tuesday, Schiff introduced his first bill as a senator, which would create a federal tax credit to reimburse people to retrofit their homes to make them more disaster-proof.

“It’s certainly not going to be the end all answer to the insurance crisis, but because it will make homes more resilient against fire, it will make it more possible, and I hope, to reduce the cost of insurance,” Schiff told CBS News.