The Los Angeles wildfires are the latest prominent example of how the ability to recover from disasters depends on insurance, and how a lack of affordable property insurance will have long-lasting implications for individuals, businesses and economies. Workers in heavy machinery gather and haul dirt, concrete, and legacy building materials from a destroyed school, Loma Alta Elementary School, burned in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. February 5, 2025.