Wildfires Insurance All I learned after my house burned
Basically: INSURANCE is a FRAUD and SCAM.
I was that guy who got the free trip to Hawaii, that you mentioned. After a whole year in the industry, i left on my own. I learned much later that you can’t support an industry that you don’t believe in. Today I will tell you what decades of wisdom has got me. 1. Be suspicious of any insurance company. 2. Never be loyal to any bank. 3. Be very cautious dealing with attorneys.( Take some classes in Law. I wish all the victims well and realize that they are in for a huge fight.)
SUPER GOOD and ACCURATE description of the insurance process. My brother’s house burned down decades ago and the same thing happened to him. Sympathetic, nice guy just wants to make you whole (he did write up a list of items my brother was initially reporting as owning and the adjuster made a couple of “mistakes” in the paperwork that we caught and corrected which seemed like it was on purpose) and then he disappeared and the “grumpy” guy appears and questions everything. I knew someone that worked in an insurance company for decades and he said that there were two $ figures in your file, the amount they would settle for and the amount they wanted to settle for – (this was back in the 70’s). Her description is like reliving the process. This should be a viral video. Insurance companies are NOT your friend.
State Farm is one of the worst insurance companies on payout. I would try to avoid them at all costs.
I am a retired independent insurance agent. Your coverage explanations as a consumer and claimant were well articulated. The most important priority besides being insured with a reputable insurance company is having a relationship with a professional agent. A quality agent can make all the difference in the world.
We had a $ 100,000 house fire in a historic house built in 1903 in 1991 . We had replacement cost insurance . They paid to have custom solid wood doors made to match the existing doors . They did an excellent job repairing our house . Before the paint was dry we received a certified letter that they were dropping us. I believe that is a common practice. Once your insurance is dropped you can’t be reinsured . A new company will not write a policy for you. We had to go into our State Funded uninsurable pool and pay a much higher premium. It is my understanding that if an insurance company wants to sell policies in your state they have to pay into the State pool . I can’t remember if it was 1 or 2 years that we had to rely on our State for homeowners insurance .
A tree fell on my house in 2022, it’s 2024 and am still going through it with State Farm, they did not want to pay and tried to pay the low minimum, I am thinking of hiring a lawyer .
A veterinarian from CA shared what he did before he had to abandon his house. He learned from previous fires that he needed to be the first line of defense for his property. He bought extra hoses, sprinklers, and fire retardant to have on hand. Before evacuating, he set the sprinklers on top of his roof, got them going, and sprayed the sides of his house with fire retardant. His house was spared in this fire.
Forensic arborisit ROBERT BRAME has stated repeatedly that most “wildfires” are in fact man-made (and not just by some goofy arsonists) — it goes much deeper and more insidious than most people might imagine. The ORGanization called “DEWISH” and the COMpany site called “WILD PHYRES” have some great info (and originally linked me here).
We had homeowners insurance and always paid on time for years. The house had indirect damage from a tornado, lots of missing shingles down to plywood roof sheathing, lots of broken storm windows. Nothing structural was damaged. An insurance adjuster came out to look at the house and started adding unrelated items that needed to be replaced but had nothing to do with the storm, he was a very nice person. We got a call to come pick up a check for repairs to the home a week after the inspection was done. We cashed the check and made all of the repairs. A month later we received a letter saying our home insurance was cancelled and to go to the local office to get a check for the amount of money we had already paid upfront earlier in the year before the tornado. It was VERY difficult to find another insurance company because the insurance who cancelled us basically blacklisted us in the entire insurance industry. It was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced as far as money transactions. It was like the insurance was running some kind of fraud or something. To this day we have never figured out what their motive was, I mean they had more money from us than they ever gave us and we never missed payments for years.
This was excellent! Thank you for thinking of others. It’s necessary to share . I wish I had this two years ago!
I’m a USAA member, and i can vouge for them being a great insurance company, but more importantly, I’m in the restoration business. I deal with customers who have had fire, water, mold, bio, and any other loss you can think of. Document, document, and document your belongings. I have also been witness to many insurance company’s dropping their customers after a paid out loss. Every so often check your policy, make sure your limits are appropriate, and would cover all things in the event of a total loss to the current market value.
I have a friend of many years (since we were both about 5 years old) who works as an independent claims adjuster. He refuses to take jobs from Allstate because he’s seen too often how they treat their customers and doesn’t want to be a part of it. His warning to me was, “You’re not in good hands with Allstate.” Conversely, he did speak well of USAA. Again, he’s independent, working for different agencies as needs arise. I’m sure he’ll be busy for a long time to come in CA.
USAA (which supposedly somehow “helps” military ?) is almost 5x pricier for similar policy. They may pay-out better, per the comments below, but the pay-in is steep.
Currently fighting with State Farm because our roof is leaking due to hail damage. We’ve poured tens of thousands of dollars into our policy over the years and every time we’ve needed repairs it has fallen under their vague “gradual wear and tear” loophole and they haven’t covered a damn thing. When they finally did approve some $$ for the roof it was a small amount to cover cosmetic repairs, not to fix the actual leak. It’s such a scam. If we’d just saved our money instead of giving it away to State Farm, the house would be in better shape because we would have had disposable income to actually make needed repairs.
I worked in corporate finance for one of the largest property insurance… the slogan was ‘Delay Delay Delay’. Insurance companies make money through a combined ratio – they invest your premiums in bonds – for every $1 you pay they make bond yield so the longer they delay payment the more money they make. So expect endless, PURPOSEFUL delays. You’ll hear every excuse under the sun for the delay – when you complain they will issue a small payment 10-20% to cool you down so they can delay delay delay the other 80-90% payment. So be ready for that! Once you are worn down you are much more likely to accept less. Oh and di I mention the enormous legal departments?
Florida resident for decades. Been through 5 hurricanes. Never been insured. Rented in my early years and now have a home that is a manufactured home and it is old and so insurance is economically absurd. And no one would insure it anyway due to it’s age. However – I will explain what the thousands of people have been going through – especially since IAN – 2.5 years ago. Just getting insurance in Florida is difficult – and was expensive in the past. Now it’s even worse and more unavailable. The state has had to step in and setup an insurer of last resort – and even then it is difficult and expensive. THEN – when a hurricane happens – they will send someone out and say it is wind “damage” IF that portion of the policy is not covered. Or Water Damage if THAT portion is not covered. AND THEN they will take their time – and then LOW BALL the owner – meaning not even close to the amount needed to repair fully. And then they will wait for a lawsuit that the homeowner will have to file. THEN – they will negotiate a settlement much lower than fully repaired costs. ( This is their “standard business practice” ) In my area there are STILL homes with blue tarps all over the place covering the roofs – and this is almost 3 years out – and Helene and then Milton came along as well in that time. This is so common that all kinds of “public adjusters” are everywhere and they have billboards advertising their services – as they become the de facto “expert witnesses” for the ( standard business practice ) litigation involved in all claims. Remember the Health Insurance guy a while back that had some small objects placed in his body at a very rapid pace ( with a silencer to boot ) and the business practices of that company and the industry in general. Well – those same exact practices occur in the home insurance space. AND – with our government being turned into a cartoon cult oligarchy for the next 4 years – not only will nothing be done about these issues – but they will be even more unfettered to continue and expand these practices in the next 4 years. Especially since the people at the agencies who actually started to enforce laws and rules protecting the average consumer ( CFPB and the FTC – SEC etc . . ) will be gone and those agencies will likely be shuttered or dramatically curtailed until 2029 at the very least. It’s getting close to the point where insurance coverage is becoming meaningless.
Calling the state insurance commission by filing a claim is a big deal for the insurance companies. In Illinois I had to use it twice, once in my son’s car totaled by another driver and that other was my home insurance not wanting to cover a lost utility ground. Without the gory detailed in both cases they were lowballing and not wanting to cover the lost ground. In both cases life favored me thousands. The mere mention of getting the state involved changes the tune of your insurance company. Remember your insurance company is not your friend.
Your lucky if you get 60% back from a total loss.
I’m a 64-year-old man born and raised in a small town here in Southern Illinois. I inherited 3 all-brick multi-family rental properties from my elderly mother back in 1997 that my father had designed and built back in 1954, 1956 and 1958 consecutively … nailing every nail swinging his own hammer and laying every brick with his own bare hands … while working a full-time job at night in the local oil refinery in the valve control room. He was a human dynamo and worked himself to death literally, dying at age 59. From day one, he and mother always had all the buildings insured with the local State Farm insurance agent, and never let those insurance policies lapse … ever … not one time! In 1997, I continued paying all three of those insurance policies, and since then I’ve made only three very small claims … one after a broken tub drain pipe was discovered that had caused a lot of damage to the adjacent apartment’s oak parquet floor which was concealed underneath a thick carpet pad causing roughly $500 in flooring damage (State Farm paid half after my $250 deductible), another when some random automobile driver fell asleep at the wheel and took out part of a concrete retaining wall on my rental property causing around $5,200 in damage (State Farm only paid $3,200 after my $500 deductible), and yet another time when a random drunk-driver smashed into the front porch of my rental property causing about $5,500 in damage (State Farm decided they would only pay me $3,300 after my $1,000 deductible). All three claims I made over the course of the 28 years I’ve owned these rental properties. Notice how my deductible went from $250 to $500 to $1,000 and this was not my choice, it was State Farm that imposed this on me. My parents never had any deductible on any of the three rental properties from the time my father built them up until the time I inherited them. Anyway, after just these three claims, my insurance rates steadily kept rising each year, to the point that when COVID hit and some of my tenants could not to pay their rent during the CDC moratorium lockdown, I struggled to maintain the high cost of property insurance. But I could not keep up and finally had to make the painful decision to drop insurance coverage altogether by the summer of 2022. All those years of making hundreds of thousands of dollars in property insurance payments to State Farm went down the drain by that summer in 2022. Sense then, I decided to “self-insure” rather than pay for property insurance because I’m fortunate that all three multi-family rental properties are completely paid off and not mortgaged. I’ve learned that Insurance companies today aren’t like what they were during my parent’s time. Sure, you might think you’re covered for “everything” the moment you review and negotiate and update and renegotiate your policies every year or so, but that’s just a fallacy these days. Insurance companies today only want one thing … they want you paying the most they can squeeze out of you, while paying out as little as possible on your claims … PERIOD !!! I’m not a wealthy guy by any stretch of the imagination. Owning three completely paid off multi-family rental buildings makes me sound like I’m rich … HAHA … far from it. After paying some of the highest property taxes in the nation, along with the ever increasing high monthly costs of water/sewer/trash utilities, all of which takes half the income, leaving me with not a very significant amount of income left by todays standard of living. Being a small-time landlord isn’t worth the struggle these days, not in my neck of the woods anyway. The costs and risks far exceed the reward.
My experience with USAA in a hurricane zone is 1. Spray paint your policy number on your home because you relocated to your inland home. 2. No need for you to meet the adjuster at your damaged home. 3.They always pay. 4. If you disagree and think you should be paid more, provide justifiation/videos/pictures/receipts, they pay you more. 5. They are not the cheapest insurance, but they are the best. 6. Been a member since 1982.
SEE ALSO LUIGI MANGIONE
STATE FARM dropped insurance after the payout. Be ready.
Process
Initial “adjuster” is wonderful; they hand-off to another adjuster who is decidedly unwonderful.
Insurance companies keep the terms vague on-purpose.
They try to nickel-and-dime payouts as their matter of course without exception. “Every time you cave, someone is getting a trip to Hawaii.”
Negotiating takes years. That means years to receive any payout.
Prepare immediately a lawsuit and complaint to state insurance board.
In 2015 my family lost a home to the valley fire in Lake County, California. I spent the next few years dealing with the insurance company. I learned a lot, which I hope will help people in Los Angeles. #losangeles #losangelesfire #losangelesfires #palisadesfire #fireinsurance #insurance
4 “Buckets”
(a) Dwelling Coverage
Replacement Value
Replacement value covers what it will cost to rebuild / recreate similar at today’s prices.
Cash value
(b) Personal Property
Covers value everything inside the house. Take a video of possessions; keep a list; receipts, descriptions, etc.
(c) ALE Additional Living Expenses
Food, temporary housing, difference in commte, etc. Usually very vague.
Example given of ‘secondary home’ and Insurance Company not paying out full coverage for all days / nights, even though identical coverage (and price) exists for neighbors having full coverage.
Beware others also on the house deed, in regards to coverage for them, etc.
(California Insurance Commission is who to file complaints with. Costs the Insurance Company paperwork, etc.)
(d) Ordinance and Upgrades AKA Law Coverage
Rebuild is required to be up-to-code. Sprinklers. Siding. Roofing. This bucket should cover upgrades, amount is negotiable.
Insurance Companies are for-profit (and by definition psychopathic) entities, required by law to maximize profit for shareholders.
Experiencing the loss of a home to wildfire is devastating, and navigating the subsequent insurance process can be complex and challenging. Here are key insights and steps to consider based on experiences shared by wildfire survivors:
1. Understanding Your Insurance Policy
- Coverage Types: Homeowners insurance typically includes several components:
- Dwelling Coverage: Covers the cost to rebuild or repair the physical structure of your home.
- Personal Property: Covers the contents of your home, such as furniture, electronics, and clothing.
- Additional Living Expenses (ALE): Covers the cost of temporary housing and other extra expenses if you cannot live in your home due to damage.
- Ordinance or Law Coverage: Covers the increased costs to rebuild your home to current building codes.
2. Steps to Take After a Loss
- Document Everything: Create a detailed inventory of damaged or lost items, including descriptions, purchase dates, and values. Photographs and receipts can be invaluable.
- File Your Claim Promptly: Contact your insurance company as soon as possible to initiate the claims process.
- Understand the Claims Process: Be aware that initial adjusters may seem sympathetic, but subsequent interactions could become more stringent. Stay organized and persistent.
- Consider Professional Assistance: Engaging a public adjuster or attorney experienced in insurance claims can help ensure you receive a fair settlement.
3. Challenges You May Encounter
- Underinsurance: Many homeowners discover their policies do not fully cover the cost of rebuilding. Regularly review and update your policy to reflect current construction costs and home improvements.
- Policy Non-Renewal: After a claim, some insurers may choose not to renew your policy. This practice is common, especially in high-risk areas.
- Increased Premiums: Following a claim, you may face higher premiums, either with your current insurer or when seeking a new policy.
4. Proactive Measures
- Home Hardening: Implement fire-resistant building materials and create defensible space around your property to reduce wildfire risks.
- Stay Informed: Understand your rights under state laws. For example, in California, insurers are required to offer at least a 12-month renewal to residents in areas affected by wildfires.
- Explore Insurance Options: If traditional insurance becomes unavailable or unaffordable, investigate state-backed plans like the California FAIR Plan, which serves as an insurer of last resort.
5. Emotional and Community Support
- Seek Support: Losing a home is traumatic. Reach out to support groups, counseling services, and community organizations for emotional assistance.
- Share Experiences: Connecting with others who have faced similar losses can provide practical advice and emotional comfort.
Navigating the aftermath of losing a home to wildfire is undoubtedly challenging. Being informed, organized, and proactive can help you manage the insurance process more effectively and begin the journey toward rebuilding your life.
See also
State Farm’s cancellation of Californian’s fire insurance policies
& Rams game goes to State Farm St
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfLqSvqYN0c