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Interesting article if you are a Californai Agent:
California’s ‘insurer of last resort’ accused of wrongly denying wildfire claims [Bay Area News Group]
Here are a few highlights:
"After the CZU Lightning Complex Fires ripped through the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2020, Sarah Mapel’s home was one of the few in her Boulder Creek neighborhood left standing. But after returning to the three-bedroom house built out of old-growth redwood, Mapel found wildfire smoke had inundated the interior and ruined most of her belongings.
“I got back to my home after the evacuation order was lifted and it was just rancid from the smoke inside,” Mapel said. “You could just see the particulate in the air, and everything was covered in ash and soot. It smelled awful, like nauseating.
When Mapel tried to file an insurance claim through her insurance provider — the California FAIR Plan — she said her policy wouldn’t cover it because there was no “physical change” to her home. She said the total cost of damage and expenses came to over $200,000....
On Wednesday, the California Department of Insurance held a public “investigatory” hearing in Oakland to gather comments about the plan and “explore solutions” for how to revamp the California FAIR Plan. The program offers coverage to homeowners and business owners who are unable to buy traditional policies because they’re in high fire-risk areas. The hearing came in the wake of two reports released last month that highlighted serious concerns....
Consumer advocates say the FAIR Plan continues to deny fire smoke claims, despite the Department of Insurance demanding the program start covering smoke damage....
Department of Insurance officials say they are continuing to work with the program to change the policy. They noted that 20 private insurers “deleted illegal smoke policy provisions” in 2018 after being notified by the agency, adding the department’s oversight led to $166 million being returned to consumers last year...."
California’s ‘insurer of last resort’ accused of wrongly denying wildfire claims [Bay Area News Group]
Here are a few highlights:
"After the CZU Lightning Complex Fires ripped through the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2020, Sarah Mapel’s home was one of the few in her Boulder Creek neighborhood left standing. But after returning to the three-bedroom house built out of old-growth redwood, Mapel found wildfire smoke had inundated the interior and ruined most of her belongings.
“I got back to my home after the evacuation order was lifted and it was just rancid from the smoke inside,” Mapel said. “You could just see the particulate in the air, and everything was covered in ash and soot. It smelled awful, like nauseating.
When Mapel tried to file an insurance claim through her insurance provider — the California FAIR Plan — she said her policy wouldn’t cover it because there was no “physical change” to her home. She said the total cost of damage and expenses came to over $200,000....
On Wednesday, the California Department of Insurance held a public “investigatory” hearing in Oakland to gather comments about the plan and “explore solutions” for how to revamp the California FAIR Plan. The program offers coverage to homeowners and business owners who are unable to buy traditional policies because they’re in high fire-risk areas. The hearing came in the wake of two reports released last month that highlighted serious concerns....
Consumer advocates say the FAIR Plan continues to deny fire smoke claims, despite the Department of Insurance demanding the program start covering smoke damage....
Department of Insurance officials say they are continuing to work with the program to change the policy. They noted that 20 private insurers “deleted illegal smoke policy provisions” in 2018 after being notified by the agency, adding the department’s oversight led to $166 million being returned to consumers last year...."
