“Areas like where the Palisades are, there should never be houses built in the first place…it's a tinderbox.”

“I want the 2040 workforce…more Hispanic and Latino”

“Where the Palisades are, there should never be houses built,” said Haden Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Innovation and Venture Capital at State Farm, on hidden camera, making candid statements about California wildfire victims and the company’s controversial hiring practices.

Kirkpatrick didn’t shy away from discussing his explicit effort to reshape State Farm’s workforce demographics, acknowledging his bias in hiring practices: “I personally, I task my HR team, finding me… the perfect profile of the workforce of the future,” he stated. “I want the 2040 workforce. So go find me the demographic profile of America in 2040: more Hispanic and Latinos.” When questioned about whether this preference applied to his personal life, Kirkpatrick doubled down: “Away from my own kind.”

Kirkpatrick bluntly critiqued California residents, stating, “People want to build in areas where they want to have, like, natural areas around them for their ego. But it’s also a f*ing desert. And so, it dries out as a tinderbox.” He also acknowledged that wildfires in these areas are not surprising to insurance professionals, claiming, “Climate change is pushing these seasons.” He explained, “If you’re an insurance professional, it’s predictable.”

Kirkpatrick also admitted that State Farm’s decision to pull out of the California insurance market was a calculated move in response to financial concerns and state regulations: “Our people look at this and say, ‘Sh*t, we’ve got, like, maybe $5 billion that we’re short if something happens.’” He revealed, “We’ll go to the Department of Insurance and say, ‘We’re overexposed here, you have to let us catch up our rate.’ And they’ll say, ‘Nah.’ And we’ll say, ‘Okay, then we are going to cancel these policies.’”

State Farm, which previously covered over a million homeowners in California, provided insurance against fire, theft, and other damages. However, their decision to withdraw coverage has left thousands of residents without financial protection following devastating wildfires. “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” except for the Californians now facing the aftermath of destruction without insurance coverage.