The first payments from the Maui wildfire settlement are expected to reach victims in July or August 2026, roughly three years after the August 8, 2023 fires. The $4.03 billion global settlement will be distributed in four annual installments of about $1 billion each, and the payout date for any individual claim depends on how complex the case is and how quickly the four court-appointed claims administrators can work through 94,816 filed claims.1Honolulu Civil Beat. $4 Billion Could Soon Begin Flowing to Maui Fire Victims
When the First Checks Go Out
As of June 2026, the settlement’s claims administrators are actively reviewing claims and expect to begin issuing payments in July or August 2026. Maui attorney Cynthia Wong, one of the litigation’s liaison counsel, said the resolution of insurance lien issues was the step that made distributions possible.2Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Maui Wildfires Settlement Poised for First Payout
Simpler cases go first. Administrators estimate it will take about six months to process and pay out the entire first installment, so a victim whose file involves complicated lien work, wrongful death allocations, or contested documentation may not see funds until late 2026 or into 2027.1Honolulu Civil Beat. $4 Billion Could Soon Begin Flowing to Maui Fire Victims The money is already in place: a Bank of America trust account held over $1.1 billion as of the latest reports, representing the first-year obligation from the seven defendants. Three more annual installments of roughly $1 billion each will follow over the next three years.3Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Maui Wildfires
Four special masters are overseeing the evaluation: Honolulu mediator Keith Hunter, retired California judges Daniel Buckley and Louis Meisinger, and Cathy Yanni, who previously served as trustee for a California wildfire victims fund. The claims-processing firm BrownGreer PLC is reviewing the 94,816 claims and more than 215,000 supporting documents. Every insurance company involved opted into the settlement before its deadline, and very few plaintiffs opted out, which removes two of the biggest risks to the schedule.2Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Maui Wildfires Settlement Poised for First Payout
How Much You Can Expect
Individual amounts have not been announced. Claims administrators are evaluating 94,816 individual claims filed by 21,750 victims across 10 categories, including property damage, wage and business losses, emotional distress, physical injury, and wrongful death. Payments are being calculated pro rata, so each victim receives a share proportional to their documented losses relative to the total pool.1Honolulu Civil Beat. $4 Billion Could Soon Begin Flowing to Maui Fire Victims
Few survivors will be made whole. Attorney Lance Collins said the total value of claims will likely exceed the $4 billion available, meaning victims will receive a percentage of their full losses rather than complete compensation.4Hawai’i Public Radio. 2 Years After the Wildfires, $4B Settlement Will Be Divided Total estimated damages from the fires reached $5.5 billion, and about 40% of insured homeowners were underinsured, with typical policies falling roughly $400,000 short of rebuilding costs.5Honolulu Civil Beat. Maui Fire Lawsuit Payouts Are Near, Few Survivors Will Break Even
What Comes Off the Top
Three deductions will reduce the net check.
- Attorney fees. On June 5, 2026, Judge Peter Cahill capped total attorney fees at $222 million, well below the roughly $1 billion plaintiffs’ lawyers had originally sought. Attorneys who signed clients before the settlement are limited to 8.33% of their clients’ proceeds; those whose cases had been set for trial can receive up to 10%; lawyers who signed clients after the settlement are capped at 3%.6Honolulu Civil Beat. A Win for Survivors: Judge Caps Maui Fire Legal Fees at $222M
- Insurance liens. Property insurers who already paid claims to policyholders are entitled to recover 10% of those policyholders’ settlement payments.5Honolulu Civil Beat. Maui Fire Lawsuit Payouts Are Near, Few Survivors Will Break Even
- Federal taxes. Settlement payments may be subject to federal income tax of up to 37% unless Congress reinstates an expired exemption for disaster-related settlements.5Honolulu Civil Beat. Maui Fire Lawsuit Payouts Are Near, Few Survivors Will Break Even
In his 11-page order capping fees, Judge Cahill wrote that the litigation had become a “swamp of Stygian proportions” and said he wanted to prevent survivors from receiving only “fractions on the dollar” to rebuild.7U.S. News & World Report. A Win for Survivors: Judge Caps Maui Fire Legal Fees at $222M
What Could Still Push the Payout Date Back
Maui attorney Jan Apo warned that some lawyers may challenge the fee-cap ruling, and any appeal could delay distributions.8Hawaii News Now. Maui Attorney Warns Fire Survivors Settlement Money Could Be Delayed The larger risk from insurance subrogation is already resolved. In February 2025, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 663-10 that property and casualty insurers cannot independently sue the settling defendants to recoup the roughly $2.6 billion they paid to policyholders. Their sole remedy is a lien on policyholder proceeds, which is why the 10% deduction exists rather than a parallel lawsuit that could have collapsed the deal.9PBS NewsHour. Hawaii Court Rules Against Insurance Companies in Maui Wildfire, Allowing $4 Billion Settlement to Proceed
Which Track Your Claim Is In
The settlement has two tracks. About 97% of the $4.037 billion is allocated to an Individual Settlement Fund for victims who retained their own attorneys and filed individual lawsuits. The remaining 3%, roughly $135 million, funds a Class Settlement Fund for people who did not file individual suits but were affected by the fires.4Hawai’i Public Radio. 2 Years After the Wildfires, $4B Settlement Will Be Divided
Both filing windows have closed. For the individual track, releases and claims questionnaires were due by November 3, 2025, and supporting documents by December 5, 2025.10Maui Wildfire Cases. Maui Wildfire Cases Portal For the class settlement, the claim deadline was December 22, 2025. Class members who missed that deadline forfeited their right to payment and gave up the right to sue the defendants separately.11Maui Fires Class Settlement. Maui Fires Class Settlement If you filed on time, your payout will come through whichever track you signed into, on the July or August 2026 timeline. None of the seven defendants admitted fault or legal liability as part of the agreement.12KHON2. What’s Holding Up the Maui Wildfire Settlement
If You Already Received a One ʻOhana Payment
The One ʻOhana Fund (formally the Maui Wildfires Compensation Program) is a separate $175 million pool the defendants created before the global settlement was finalized, aimed at families of the 101 people killed and those hospitalized with severe injuries. Payments began in March 2025, with the most severe cases eligible for up to $1.5 million, and 47 families settled through this fund in lieu of litigation.13Hawai’i Public Radio. $1.5M Payments Begin for Families Who Lost Loved Ones in the 2023 Maui Fires
Those payments were described as “interim” and are being credited against the defendants’ contributions to the global settlement. Families who received earlier One ʻOhana money can still seek additional compensation through the main settlement process.4Hawai’i Public Radio. 2 Years After the Wildfires, $4B Settlement Will Be Divided As of mid-2026, the One ʻOhana Fund is issuing payments to eligible Phase II claimants who signed Green Releases and completed lien resolution; payments to those who signed Yellow Releases had not yet begun.14Maui Compensation Fund. One ʻOhana Fund (Maui Wildfires Compensation Program)