By Alana Semuels January 9, 2025 3:20 PM EST I nsurance companies were worried about many of the homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles long before this week’s devastating wildfire burned through the area, ravaging homes and forcing evacuations. The Palisades, because of its location next to the brush-heavy Santa Monica Mountains and the high value of its homes, was too vulnerable to fires to insure at permissible rates without the companies losing money. Insurers including