Claim DENIED?! The TRUTH About Insurance After a Disaster!

The video covers a detailed discussion about insurance claims and recovery processes following California wildfires, hosted by Karl Susman on Insurance Hour. He provides comprehensive guidance on various aspects of the insurance claim process, from initial filing to long-term recovery. Key topics include how to start insurance claims, documentation requirements, coverage for additional living expenses (with extended coverage mandated to 24 months by the Department of Insurance), handling smoke damage claims, and safety considerations when returning to damaged properties. Susman emphasizes the importance of professional assessment for smoke damage and warns against self-remediation of damaged items. He also discusses financial assistance options, including FEMA grants up to $40,000 and SBA loans up to $2 million at 4% interest over 30 years.

Karl Susman introduces Insurance Hour and begins discussing wildfire-related insurance claims. He emphasizes the importance of obtaining claim numbers when filing and explains that claims are typically handled on a first-come, first-served basis. He provides multiple ways to file claims: directly with insurance companies, through agents/brokers, or online.

Insurance Hour is hosted by renowned insurance expert Karl Susman. Karl is a frequent guest on television stations such as ABC, CBS, Spectrum, The CW and FOX, and now his popular radio program is available online throughout California and world-wide.

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Transcript

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Buckle up everyone, you are strapped in and ready for Insurance Hour. With me, your host, Karl Susman, informing, educating, and entertaining one policy at a time, this is Insurance Hour. Hello, hello, this is Insurance Hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. Thank you for being here with us today. Our continued coverage of the wildfires in California continues. Today, you can still call our phone number and ask any question you have or send a text message, whatever you like. That number is 559-656-0317 or you can email your question into Questions@InsuranceHour.com. Now, we are going to be talking today about some of the frequently asked questions that I am getting surrounding the wildfire situation. This is going to be good for people that have actually been impacted by the fire as well as people that are in surrounding areas and really just good information for everyone to have about how the insurance process works. So let me get right to it. I put these in categories sort of in a timeline of what people were starting to ask in the beginning and working right up to the current time. The first thing I'm being asked a lot is how do I start the insurance claim process? Now, the way you start a claim for a major catastrophe like the wildfires is the same as you would for any other claim. You can contact the insurance company directly, you can contact your insurance agent or broker or you can even go online and file a claim that way. Any of those ways, any of those methods should open a claim and begin the process. It's important when you file a claim, you have some type of confirmation. Be sure you're getting a claim number, a confirmation number, something. Don't just submit and or tell someone and assume that it'll just happen. Have some type of, I hate to say, receipt or verification or proof that the process has been started. Passengers like this tend to be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. So the sooner you file your claim, the sooner you'll be able to start having interactions with your claims adjuster, the sooner you'll be able to be on the right path towards recovery. Next question is, what documentation is needed to prove damages and losses? Now, since we're going to be focusing primarily on the wildfires in California, a lot of claims are total losses, meaning that there's nothing left. You're not going to have to document what is left. Your insurance adjuster is going to verify the loss and they're going to begin the claim process from there. Now, as far as documentation after the fact, depending on the type of loss, depending on the insurance company, depending on some other regulations that the Department of Insurance might come down with, you may or may not have to provide things like some type of an itemization or some type of documentation of what was there. Now, keep in mind, the Department of Insurance has already submitted and put out regulations that say that, for example, if you're going to be putting out some type of an itemization, you don't have to say three pairs of socks, blue, or three pairs of socks, white, gold, toe, two years old, one a little stretched out around the ankle. It doesn't have to be that specific. You can say, clothing, X number of dollars, right? So don't make more work for yourself than you have to. Start out with it as broad as you can, and if you do receive some pushback, then you can try and be more specific as you work your way down there. But don't drive yourself crazy trying to specifically write everything down right up front unless you are given those instructions by your adjuster, which is probably not going to be the case, okay? Next, will my policy cover additional living expenses while I'm displaced? This is a very common question that I'm getting a lot. Most insurance policies have some type of coverage for you to relocate during the time that your home has to be rebuilt, or if it's not a complete loss for it to be repaired. That amount can vary drastically from company to company, from policy to policy. It depends on the limit you've selected. Some insurance companies will give you a dollar amount, and they'll say, you can use this up to a year. Some will say, whatever is reasonable and customary to put you somewhere similar to where you were for a specific period of time. Also, side note, the Department of Insurance has already changed the rules somewhat and said, regardless of what your policy says, you are mandated, this is to the insurance carriers, to offer coverage up to 24 months. So if, for example, your policy has a specific dollar amount for 12 months, guess what? The Department of Insurance has stepped in and said, let's make that 24 months. Now, that's going to mean you have less money per month, but you're going to be able to stretch it out over a longer period of time. Next question. am I covered for smoke damage or only fire damage? This is a big one. This is sort of the issue that we don't hear about as much and it is definitely a significant issue. People that don't have their home entirely destroyed, down to the ashes, down to a chimney, still could potentially have significant damage to their home. I personally went and toured some homes in the Pacific Palisades area and I went into one home that had severe smoke damage. You have to understand when you hear smoke damage, this is not just you walk in and you sniff the air you say smells like the fireplace is on. No, this is we're talking about the fire blew out the windows, melted the glass, sucked the skylights right off the roof and rained down and blew in ash, inches of ash everywhere. Also keep in mind that this ash, this is not, I hate to say it forest ash, this is ash from the buildings that have been around, the homes that were around, the commercial businesses that had who knows what in their businesses that were burning. So this is dangerous stuff most likely. So smoke damage. Yes, most policies, if they cover fire damage, they will also cover smoke damage. Interestingly enough, it tends to even be more difficult for a claims adjuster to work on a situation with a partial loss or a smoke damage loss than a total loss. As crazy as that sounds. And if you think about it, it makes some sense. With a total loss, you start from scratch. With a partial loss or a loss based on smoke damage, you have many moving parts. Is there physical damage? Is there damage because of particles in the air? What about the furniture? Can it be cleaned? Does it have to be replaced? What about having some type of professional come out to test the environment in the house? To take samples of the air quality. There are all sorts of things that can get involved and can become an issue when people have partial losses or just smoke damage. You know, I wish that I had more details or I could give you more specifics about how that part of the claim situation works. Just understand your takeaway needs to be that your house does not have to be reduced to nothing for a fire insurance policy to usually provide coverage. That should be the main takeaway. Certainly I can tell you that in California, trying to think I'm not aware of any specific policy right now that covers fire and excludes damage by smoke, for example, all right? I know quite a few policies. Listen, we're gonna take our first break. When we come back, we're going to talk more about some of the most frequently asked questions I'm getting about the wildfires. And I'm going to give you the best answers that I can as of this day. You are tuned in to Insurance Hour. I am your host, Karl Susman, 60 seconds. That's it, just stand by and we will be right back. Let's talk about earthquakes for a minute. Look, we know we live in earthquake country here in California. Powerful, devastating earthquakes have happened here before, and science says that they will happen again. They can't tell us exactly when, they can just tell us that it is going to happen. Count on it. Prepare for it. Did you know that earthquakes are not covered by your homeowner's insurance policy? You need a separate policy to give you the peace of mind that you will be able to recover without getting financially wiped out the next time we get hit with a big one. There is a great company here in California that will provide you with earthquake coverage you need at a price you can afford. That company is GeoVera. I have a policy through GeoVera. I really like how easy it is to choose from all of their great coverage options backed by the financial strength that lets me know that they will be here for me when I need them the most. Go to www.getquake.com forward slash insurance hour to learn more. That's www.getquake.com slash insurance hour. Make sure you're ready for the day when the ground shakes again. Hello, hello. This is insurance hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. Thank you so much for being here with us today. We are continuing our coverage regarding the wildfires in California. The phone lines are closed, but you can still call. Leave us a message, send a text or an email. That phone number is 559-656-0317. Call or text or send an email to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. Today's show is sponsored by GeoVera Earthquake Insurance Company. I personally have my earthquake insurance with GeoVera. As you can imagine, every insurance company wants me to have my policy with them. I choose, I've chosen for decades, really, GEOVERA for more reasons than I can talk about right now because I want to talk about the wildfire. But understand, if you're looking to get an earthquake insurance proposal, and let's face it, if you're somewhere in California, chances are you should have earthquake insurance. Go to insurancehour.com. You'll see GEOVERA's link right there. Give it a click. You'll need a quote in less than 30 seconds. All right, GeoVera, we thank you for your support. Back to the wildfires. Another question that I'm asked very frequently is, once the claim has been opened, how do I arrange a thorough inspection for my home of both structure and smoke damage? Now, inspections are, I say depending on your damage, either very simple or they could be a little more complex. They tend to be pretty simple with a total loss. The inspector will likely have boots on the ground and they will see the home is no longer there. Now, there's a lot of frustration with people that say, we know the house is gone. We've seen the aerial images. There's no question that there's nothing left. Why are they waiting? Are they just trying to delay? And the answer is no. And let me try and explain. With insurance policies, it's very important that insurance companies try as hard as they can to treat everyone. equally. So in your situation it might be pretty obvious but in another situation maybe another claim another loss somewhere else entirely it might not be that cut and dry. So the guidelines that have created the guidelines that are in place simply say we need to have boots on the ground to verify a loss. So it's not that the insurance carriers are doubting you it's not that they're trying to delay doing anything it's that the guidelines consistently say they have to verify a loss before they can do anything. So understand that it's not just to annoy you it's the process just to keep everybody on a level playing field. Now once your inspector goes out and verifies if we're talking about a total loss like I said it's it's not going to be a long inspection. You may or may not attend with the inspector it's up to you usually some insurance companies will ask that you do come some will say they'd rather you come or not doesn't make a difference. You know, I can go either way when it comes to this issue. I think personally, as painful as it might be to see the loss, I think for the element of closure, probably makes sense for you to go and see it. If you're talking about a non-total loss, maybe significant smoke damage or a partial fire loss, then you definitely want to be there with the inspector. You want to see what they're going to see. If they're taking pictures, you take pictures. Don't go into it and say to yourself, oh, that's very obvious what happened. There's smoke damage, everything has to be blah, blah, blah. No, go in, take your pictures, do exactly what the inspector is doing and listen. Listen, listen to what they're saying and take notes. If they're saying something that's making you uncomfortable, take notes, be prepared to go back and ask those questions later. If you need help, reach out to your agent or broker, or you can reach out to the adjuster directly via email, almost always. I like people putting things in emails because I think it keeps everybody on the same page, but I'm bummed, sorry. It keeps everyone on the same page because if you've got it in front of you, you don't have to worry about, well, did I ask it this way? Did I ask it that way? What was that answer? This way you have it, you can refer to it. And certainly I would say as a good practice, keep the emails in one particular folder, everything relating to your claim you want to keep just in case you need it at a later date. So in the event of a partial loss, make sure you're there, in the event of a total loss, it's a little bit more up to you to decide. Next question is, who is going to be performing the inspection? My insurance company, my insurance company's adjuster, an independent adjuster, or both? This is a good question. Normally, you'll have your insurance company handle everything. You don't have to pay an independent adjuster, you don't have to pay a third party at all because your insurance company has people that they are paying to do that. Now, if at some point you feel that you're not getting what you need, you're not getting the right response. You're not getting it fast enough. You feel like they're not giving you, they're not being fair with you. And you decide that you, you're comfortable basically signing some of your settlement away to another party, then you might consider going and having a, a, an independent adjuster or some other individual assist you. But I would say always try and do it yourself and enlist the people that are already getting paid. Talk to your insurance agent or broker. Some will be more hands on than not. And while agents are not specifically there to handle your claims, spoiler alert, that's what the claim suggestor is there for, some agents will try and play interference for you and be in between to try and pass messages along, to try and, you know, get a little extra attention if you feel that you're not getting what you need. Just try and exhaust all of those possible avenues before you, you resort to a situation where you have to pay somebody to do something for you. Okay. What's the best way to document and photograph all damage to maximize insurance reimbursement? I like how this is worded, so I'm going to take it literally. So, the best way to document things is with photographs, video, and receipts. Very simple. Keep everything. Take pictures. Go back and look at other pictures. Most of us have an awful lot of photographs and video on our phones. Save to the cloud, or wherever we might have it backed up. And that's going to be a really good resource for you, as painful as it might be, to be able to refer to to go back and say, oh, I forgot. I had that in that corner. Oh, I forgot. That fence was, you know, this height because I can see someone standing next to it. Things like that that might matter. Now, I'm not saying you should turn around and just forward your photo album to the claims adjuster. But for you, when it comes time to try and reassemble in your own mind and regurgitate to a claims adjuster what it is you're claiming, those photos, those videos, all of that can be a real help. Now, the second part of this question is what I really want to focus on quickly to maximize insurance reimbursement. Now, understand there's no way to maximize it. You have a contract and insurance policy is a contract and you're going to get what the contract says. There's a dollar amount on that. So if it turns out that you are submitting receipts, you're submitting all of your documentation and you are comfortable and you're being honest and you say, that's everything I had. If it turns out that it's less than the amount of coverage you have, okay. I mean, you're submitting everything that you honestly believe you have. You don't want to lie. You don't want to exaggerate to try and get more money than you're entitled to because that can actually put your entire claim in jeopardy. Let me say that again. If you lie, you are potentially putting the entire claim in jeopardy of being paid. Don't lie. Be honest. That's always the best thing when it comes to working with an insurance carrier. One more quick break and we'll be back. This is insurance hour. I am Karl Susman. 60 seconds. We'll be right here. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, in just a few moments, the window to the magic podcast show will begin. My name is Patrick. My name is Calvin. I'm Mouseketeer Greg. My name is Paul and I will be your guide through the wonderful world of Disney sound experiences. This show is a weekly trip into the world of the Disney theme parks and resorts, and this is the place where you get to use your ears to surround yourself with the magic. For your safety, please remain seated while listening to the WindowToTheMagic.com podcast. Maybe there's a name for this, something like, is not a concession. Please visit WindowToTheMagic.com for more information, or you can find us on Apple podcasts and in the iHeartMedia app. Hello, hello. This is Insurance Hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. Thank you so much for being here with me today. Our continued coverage regarding the California wildfire continues right now. The phone lines are open, but not live. Give us a call or send us a text to 559-656-0317, call or text. Or send your questions in to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. Alright, let's get back to it. We are going over questions that I'm getting with regard to claims after the California wildfires. Now, we're getting into health and safety. Is my home safe to enter, and when can I retrieve my personal belongings? I'm shaking my head because it's so hard to hear these things, and I do hear these questions. As far as safe to enter. Now, presumably at this point, with this type of a question, we're talking about someone that has not had a total loss. It's someone that's had a partial loss. And I have... to say we have to defer to the experts on this. This is not me. This is not the insurance company. This has to do with the state of California, potentially the feds, that are going to be on the ground and deciding when it's safe to be there. Now remember, they might say it's safe to be there to go and to leave, but not to stay. And that's probably the case for a lot of people that have significant losses, but not total losses in the burn areas. They're able to go there, sometimes with an escort, but they certainly can't stay. As far as your personal belongings, this is important as well. If you're going to retrieve your personal belongings, be sure you document it first. Document the condition that it's in. You don't want to be in a situation where you are taking your things away and then you want to claim later that it was lost or damaged. Maybe you take it away and then you realize it can't be salvaged. the best thing to do when you first go back to your home is document everything very well. Stand in every room, take a bunch of pictures, take the video on your phone, turn it on, walk around the house. It's super important that you document the way things were immediately following the loss. What you do after that is up to you to some extent. Just be sure that you document every step of the way what you're doing and if you are going to be taking things out of the house, check with one of the professionals and make sure it's safe. You don't want to take something out that might have been absorbing chemicals from the fire department or from the air and you're taking that with you now and it's in your car and just be careful. It can really be dangerous stuff. All right, what health risks are associated with smoke inhalation and soot residue? Well, I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV and I will still tell you that you cannot be too careful with this stuff. I mean, again, from the time that I spent in the burn area, the smell is like nothing I've ever smelled before. It does not smell like burning wood, like a fireplace. It's a chemical burn smell. So I can only imagine that there are health risks to inhaling this. If you see the professionals that are there, the police department, the national guard, people that are anywhere near those areas, they're wearing masks. Some of them are wearing pretty hefty masks. It's like seeing COVID times again, people walking around in masks. But I have to tell you, you take off that mask and you sniff, you're going to understand why. It's really, really, really hard. So stay away if you can and if you are there for a short time, wear a couple of masks. A mask over a mask. All right, next, how do I properly clean smoke damaged material to minimize health hazards? Simple answer, you don't. Unless that's your profession, have a professional do that. I was talking with a client the other day, I get goosebumps, it's so hard, that had lost their home and they wanted to go back because their kids wanted to see about some of their stuffed animals. And the first thing that went through my head was, first, there's probably nothing there. But second, I thought if there was, that would be some type of a porous material and cloth and it would have absorbed so much chemicals and you would not want to take that and hand that to your child. I know it's hard. I cannot imagine how hard, but I have to tell you that the only thing that could be worse would be to have a forever health issue because you took something out that was dangerous and you took chemicals away and it follows you around. So as much as you really want, even the little things matter. I had another client that was saying, hey, I want to get the numbers off my house. All right, well, you know, those are metal. They were partially melted. I still wouldn't just take it washed off and take it home. I don't know, maybe I'm paranoid. I would still wanna talk to a professional, see do they need to be steam cleaned? They need to be deep. What do you need to do? Because even though metal in this example is, well, solid, it still can hold on to something. I don't know. Maybe I'm probably talking out of my, you know what, I'm way off from my expertise. All I could say was personally, there is nothing in my house that could be worth my health or the health of my family. So I would always err on the side of caution. If you see something you really want, talk to a professional and be sure that it's safe to take. All right, the next set of questions I have, I have under dollar signs. How can I handle immediate financial needs after I've lost certain documents and credit cards? Okay, your insurance company should be stepping in to give you cash pretty darn fast. The Department of Insurance has given instructions to be sure that insurance companies start giving out money really fast. Billions of dollars have already been given out and, you know, it can never be fast enough, but it's going fast. I have personally seen million dollar electronic fund transfers going from carriers to consumers, which it's so horrible to see because I know what that means. And at the same time, it's such a relief because I can see that money is going to people that need it so quickly. As far as how do you get things like the documents you've lost and credit cards and things of that nature? I would say prioritize what you need first. Do you really have to have a copy of your birth certificate right now? Probably not. Do you really need a credit card right now? Yeah, probably. So prioritize what it is that you need to have and get those things first, okay? Contact the credit card company, establish a new temporary address, all of that. Also, and this is just my personal opinion, even if you have a long-term lease somewhere, I strongly suggest that you do that. you get a PO box because you might end up moving more than once between the time right now and the time when you move back to your home. And you don't want to have to deal with change of addresses more than once. So I suggest you get a PO box, make sure everything just starts going there, and just let everything go there and when you finally move back to your forever home, then change your address back. Don't change it from your home to a rental property that maybe you think you'll move home right away but it takes longer and you have to go to another rental property. Who knows? And your mail is going to be chasing you around. Don't do it. I would pick a central place that you can have all of your mail go, put in the little change of address, you can do it online at the USPS, just search for USPS address change, go there, fill it out, submit it, and get your mail going somewhere that you'll have access to it. Alright, it is time for another quick break. We'll come back more of these questions. Insurance Hour with Karl Susman, that's me, be back in a flash. Have you been dropped by your insurance agency or senior premium skyrocket? Susman Insurance is here to help. We're a family owned and operated insurance agency that's been serving our community for two generations. At Susman Insurance, we know how stressful it can be to find the right coverage, especially when prices go up or you're left without insurance. That's why we're committed to finding you competitive rates, whether it's for fire, home, earthquake, flood, auto insurance, you name it. We've got you covered. Give us a call or send a text to 310-820-5200 or visit us online at Susmaninsurance.com. Plus, stay updated on all things insurance by joining our text group, just text 567-4Karl with a K. That's 567-367-5275 to get the latest updates straight to your phone. Susman Insurance, your family's insurance solution. Hello, hello. This is insurance hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. Our continued coverage regarding the California wildfire continue. Phone lines are closed, but you can still call and leave us a message with your questions. That phone number is 559-656-0317. You can call or text that number or send an email to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. We'll get back to you as soon as we can. I want to make one quick note. I have been in this industry for a very long time and I try and stay on top of everything, but I'm not perfect and it's possible that I get something wrong. So if you hear something and it doesn't sound right, reach out, let me know, let me double check it, check it two or three times, different places to be sure, and I'll go and make sure that everyone knows that as well. idea isn't to try and always be right. My idea is to give you the best answer that I can based on my expertise in the industry. And if I'm wrong, I want to update that knowledge for me and for you. So please, make sure if you hear something that doesn't sound right, let me know. Let me double check it and let's find out so we all have the correct information. On that note, before I go on, we've had a ton of information on this particular show. If you missed part of it, go back, listen to the beginning. You can also find us online, pretty much everywhere. Just search for insurance hour. It's on iHeartRadio, all Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, YouTube. It's there. It's just search for insurance hour and you'll have no problem finding us. Alright, let's get back to some of these questions. Where can I find resources for emergency housing, food, and financial assistance? You know, you should be able to rely on your insurance company to help you with resources like housing. because hopefully you have a policy that will pay for that. Food, again, that is something that you should be able to get money for. Financial assistance, I'm not sure what that means. If you're looking for just cash, then your policy is going to be giving you cash likely as well. Now, I want to address the issue that there may be someone that is tuned in that does not have an insurance policy for one reason or another. Now, there are resources that you can get potentially, and the best thing to do is to go to the Department of Insurance website that's insurance.ca.gov and find the section for disaster assistance. There's state aid, there's federal aid, there's loans, there's grants, and everything in between. There are options that are out there. So the answer simply is check with your insurance company, and if not, start with the Department of Insurance and see what they can do for you. This was a great question that I had to actually look up. Can my mortgage or property taxes be deferred? Now, this is something you have to discuss with your lender as far as your mortgage payment. Now, as a rule, I'm hearing the main banks have automatically said if you call them and tell them, they'll defer payments for one, two, or three months. Now, defer means just that, defer. It doesn't mean that you just don't have to make payments those months. It means that after that period of time, you will owe two months or three months, which between you and me in the wall seems like really, and this is helping me how? I don't know. I mean, I guess if you're waiting for money to come in from somewhere, it's helpful, but I don't know. The other is the property taxes. Now, property taxes, you can go onto the Secretary of State website in California, and you can list your property as destroyed in the fire. Your property taxes will, understandably, change based on that. Now, remember, you are going to have to go back and update that as updating becomes necessary as the home is being rebuilt, but initially, you should be able to go onto that site and put the information in. incorrectly and have some type of either a property tax reduction or elimination altogether until such time as there's a property there. I would suspect that since there's still land there is some value. Property tax might not be zero but don't quote me on this I'm not entirely sure. I did look it up and find out that there absolutely is the ability for you to make notation of that on the Secretary of State's website and have that affect what you pay to the extent of how much or when or for how long I'm not entirely sure but definitely it's worth going and checking that out. Alright next set of questions have to do with rebuilding. Should I use a professional restoration service for smoke damage or can I handle it myself? When we talked about this a little bit earlier you're not going to go in there with with an air filter and and Lysol okay. Get professionals to go in there. This is not a game. This is not a drill. You need to do this right. I would not do it yourself. I don't care who you are. Truthfully, even if you're in the industry, I wouldn't do it yourself because you're going to be emotionally attached. You might not do it right. Leave it to the professionals. Talk to your insurance company adjuster. I'm sure they're working with a whole slew of them. All right. How long does it typically take to restore a fire or slope damage property? Well, that's just a question now, isn't it? If you are in a situation where your home burns to the ground or has smoke damage and you're the only home, well, chances are it's not going to take as long as if two houses on your street burned down or the entire street or several streets or in this case, the entire city. The problem that we're seeing and we will continue to see is when we have this level of devastation, there are limited resources. There are only so many builders, so many architects, so many contractors that can do this work. They can't all do it at once. Depending on the area, there might be issues logistically of just simply getting to the property. If there are thousands of homes that are lost and there just isn't the volume of people to do that work at the same time. Well, what that means is some houses are going to get built first, second, third, and all the way down the line. Before you get very frustrated about that, ask yourself this, do you really want to be the first house done and you move into a neighborhood that has no other houses? That's another entire topic that I've heard already where people are saying, look, I don't know if I want to go back even once my house is cleaned up right away because it's not safe for me to be the only house within three blocks. So people are opting to not want to go back until it's safer. And as it turns out, even if their home could be safe to go back to, there There are major restrictions that are going on in and around the surrounding areas. For example, you can't shower with the water. You certainly can't drink the water. The air quality I've discussed quite a bit. So understand that it is going to be a long, long process. This is not like anything else we've ever seen before. It's not for, there's nothing we can even look back and say, well, when we see fires like this, stop. There are, there have never been fires like this. There have been large fires, absolutely. But the level, the breadth of this type of fire, the type of homes, the area that it's in, the access being so specific, mind you, depending on which fire you're talking about, there's one or maybe two ways into the neighborhood. All of those factors are going to slow down the process of rebuilding. It's a horrible situation, but be prepared. Don't be shocked when you find that out. Don't be shocked. It's time for another quick break and we will continue. This is insurance hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. 60 seconds. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, in just a few moments, the window to the magic podcast show will begin. My name is Patrick. My name is Calvin. I'm Mouseketeer Greg. My name is Paul and I will be your guide through the wonderful world of Disney sound experiences. This show is a weekly trip into the world of the Disney theme parks and resorts. And this is the place where you get to use your ears to surround yourself with the magic. For your safety, please remain seated while listening to the window to the magic.com podcast. Maybe there's a name for this, something like, is not a good session. Please visit window to the magic.com for more information, or you can find us on Apple podcasts and in the I heart media app. Hello. Hello. This is insurance hour. I am your host, Karl Susman. We have our continued coverage about the California wildfires. The phone lines are closed, but taking messages, give us a call or shoot a text to 559-656-0317 or you can shoot an email always to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. For the break, we were talking about things to do after the home has been lost and we were talking about smoke damage. Now let's move on to something else that I'm hearing a lot about and that's specific permits for building again. Now, there's a lot of talk about how is it going to get done? How long is it going to take to get permits to rebuild? And my feeling, is at this stage we're very premature at this point, because we haven't even gotten to a place where people can consider filing building permits for rebuilding. We're not even close. The area is still not safe to go to. Now there has been talk that the county of Los Angeles is going to set up remote permitting offices in areas near the burn center, the burn center, the areas that burned. So that's all the people in those locations are going to be handling. Just that area's fires. So I think that's going to help to some extent. There's also been some talk that there's going to be looser guidelines on rebuilding and permits will be easier to get. I've got mixed feelings about that. I have to believe that we're going to do the right thing and we're not going to rebuild things in a dangerous way for the sake of speed, but that's just me. Let's move on. What do I do and which items do I keep? Yeah, we talked about this earlier. As hard as it is, I think that you need to take safety into consideration above the tangible items. If something, even if you really wanna have it, you really wanna have it, be sure that somebody checks it out an expert to be sure that it's safe to have. If something has survived the fire and it's something that you want as a keepsake, don't just pocket it, number one, document it, right? We talked about that and number two, don't just toss it in your car. It could be carrying toxic chemicals, have it checked out. Let's see, how can I safely decontaminate electronics, fabrics, furniture? Back to that again, everyone is so eager to get their stuff and I get it. That stuff might not be safe. So again, whatever is there, document first and then decide what you want. And if it's something that you want, have an expert look at it to determine if it's safe to take and if not, how to get it cleaned so you can take it, okay? Please, if you take nothing else away from this show, take that away. Will my insurance cover the replacement cost of personal belongings or just cash? I think what they're asking is, or just the actual cash value. This is going to be policy specific. If you have replacement cost on your policy, then they're going to pay new for old, meaning you're gonna say, okay, I had a TV that was four years old, they're not going to say, well, four year old TV is worth about $20. You're going to say it's gonna cost me $700 to repurchase the TV and you'll get reimbursed for that $700, that's replacement cost. If they're referring to actual cash value, again, that's the depreciated value as I just gave you the example of a moment ago. Okay, where can I access counseling and mental health support for the stress and the trauma? There is no shortage of places to get that help right now. I've actually been... contacted by several online organizations that wanted to partner with me to refer clients to to get counseling. I think the first thing you should do is talk to your primary physician, find out if it's something that they, if they offer that type of medical assistance. If not, see if they can refer you to someone. If not, you can certainly go to the Department of Insurance website, insurance.ca.gov, go under disaster assistance and there will be referrals there for places and people to go and talk to to get the type of counseling that you need. I cannot stress enough. This is not a time to be, you know, oh, I don't need that. You very well. I can't personally imagine having this type of a tragedy occur and not needing someone to talk to about it. Really. So don't not be shy. Look for the support that you need because you might not even realize it yet. I can tell you this being in the position that I'm in and talking to people every day. People, it hits them in waves. Some people realize what happened and the gravity of it right away. Some people are just now starting to come to grips with it. They're calling and saying, I just realized when it was raining the other day, I didn't have an umbrella. Someone else I talked to and they said, you know what? I've had this hangnail, I don't have a toenail clipper. I mean, they're starting from zero stuff. So I think that it's entirely reasonable to think that you might need some counseling and don't be shy, find the help that you need. Even if you're not feeling like you might need it that desperately right now, it's better to get help now than to wait until things get worse and all of a sudden you're at the breaking point. Are there community organizations or support groups for individuals that have gone through this? I don't know of any specifically, but I suspect there are. I'm actually going to do a little bit of research about this. I'm gonna make a note right now because I will mention this in the next show and maybe I can give you some links to go to for support groups. But again, good place to go, talk to your physician. And if all else fails, you can go to the Department of Insurance website and look for resources there. One place not to go is online social media and listen to what everyone's yapping about. You know, the doctors come out of the woodwork and they, oh, try this remedy, oh, try that remedy. It's not good. All right, if you're already in a vulnerable position, you don't need to have some bizarre, crazy person online telling you that if you do X, Y, and Z, you'll feel better or take X, Y, and Z, you'll feel better. Be very careful right now. All right, the next section has to do with legal and administrative issues. How do we handle things like important documents and wills and things of that nature? And we talked about that a little bit earlier. And again, I would prioritize what information, what documentation you need first, get those things, and then start submitting for the other types of documents that you need. need to have, but not that you need right this very moment after the fact. Does that make sense? It's interesting because a lot of times we collect documents that are important and then they're gone. We realize, oh, I probably should have had more than one copy of that. So it might not be a bad idea as you're getting all of these documents. Again, you're starting from scratch, get more than one copy, put them in more than one place. Maybe one of those places is scanned and an electronic copy saved somewhere in the cloud. Okay. I keep a lot of my important documents, a copy at least in the cloud because if there ever is a loss and I have been evacuated from my house before, twice, and I still grab the stuff, but in the event that I can't, I know that I've got at least a copy of those things that I can have access to. Nothing's more annoying than when you're trying to replace a document and they're asking you details about the document. Well, what's the serial number? I don't know. It's gone. That's why I'm ordering another one. Don't get me started, but one more break and we're on to our final section. This is insurance hour. I'm Karl Susman here to help and answer your questions. 60 seconds, be right back. Are you feeling lost in the search for the right insurance? Making call after call, only to find no one willing to go that extra mile for you? At Susman Insurance Agency, we understand that frustration and we're here to change your experience. Where others see obstacles, we see opportunities. While many might shy away from jumping through hoops, at Susman Insurance Agency, we are prepared to leap. Looking under every rock, exploring every avenue, that's not just what we do, it's who we are. Our dedicated team doesn't just offer policies, we provide solutions. Solutions born from persistence, expertise, and a genuine commitment to finding you the best coverage possible. We don't just meet expectations, we surpass them. If you're tired of hearing no or it's not possible, it's time to turn to a team that believes in yes and let's make it happen. Don't settle for less. Reach out to Susman Insurance Agency at 877-411-5200, visit us online at Susmaninsurance.com, or email sales at Susmaninsurance.com. Let's uncover the insurance solutions you deserve. Susman Insurance Agency, going the extra mile, every time. Hello, hello, this is insurance hour, I am your host Karl Susman. We are talking about the California wildfires today. Our phone lines are open and going through voicemail and messages for later since we're handling this emergency right now. Go ahead and give us a call or text at 559-656-0317 or send us an email to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. The prior section I was going over some questions that people are asking regarding recovery from the wildfires and what it had to do with mental health. During the break I did do a quick search because I wanted to be able to give you something more than saying check online, so I checked online for you. If you are in need of mental health support, you can call 1-800-985-5990, or you can text talkwithus to 66746. Again, that's talkwithus to 66746. So you text to 66746, and then in there you type talk with us. It always seems backwards when you're reading this, but that's what you do. And if something is really bad, you could always dial the suicide hotline, which is 988, and they will connect you to someone that can talk to you immediately. Okay, get the help you need if you need it. Okay, let's go on. We've got a few more topics, a few more questions that I can get to before we're out of time. What tax relief programs might I apply for? I would say all of them. And go to insurance.ca.gov. you'll find under disaster assistance, a list of places to go and different organizations that will basically assist you in where you go to file for some of those tax relief benefits. Also, talk to your tax insurance professional, right? That should be the first place you go and ask them, say, what can I do? What type of deferring, what type of, you can't call it a benefit. What options do I have right now in the tax world to help me in this situation? There are definitely options that are out there. Another question we have all the time is about government grants and loans for fire victims, and the answer is a resounding yes. The Small Business Administration, or SBA, is giving out low-interest loans. I believe it's at 4% amortized over 30 years, and I think they're giving up to $2 million, and FEMA is giving grants, I think, up to $40,000, a grant meaning money you don't have to pay back so there's no interest rate there. You should definitely go there. Keep in mind that you can, as long as you disclose it, collect on an insurance policy and get assistance from these organizations. As long as you disclose it and you still qualify, you might be able to get both. That's important. Don't think it's one or the other. Okay, future. What can I do to reduce the risk of this happening again? You know, that's the question, isn't it? We wanna do everything we can to avoid this type of loss ever again for anybody, and the concept that someone would rebuild and lose their home again is unthinkable. I think I did read an article about someone that lost their house in a prior fire in Northern California, moved here and lost their house now. I mean, my heart goes out to them. What I would suggest you do is stay on top of the new building codes and all of the guidelines to build a home that is safer, okay? There are lots of little things you can do, and those little things can add up. organization called Safer from Wildfires. The Department of Insurance again has got information on that, gives tips on building and things that you can do to make your home safer. Now again, we were talking about this the other day and someone said, I don't care what you do to your house, when there's 90 mile an hour winds and a fire it's not going to matter what you've done to your house. I get that and it's probably not entirely untrue, but not every house is going to be a total loss and not every fire is going to have the same characteristics that this fire did. So it makes sense to do whatever you can to try and protect your home, your next home from being lost in a wildfire again. Again, I just cannot even fathom the concept of having to go through this more than once. As anyone that's going through this right now will tell you, once is more than enough. Once is more than you ever want to go through it to begin with. stick with the building codes, talk to the experts. You notice I seem to rely on that. If I don't have the answer, I go to experts. And that's one of the reasons hopefully you're here because you wanna get more information on how to deal with insurance, how to deal with the claims in this situation. So you go to an expert and I've done this long enough. I have enough resources where I feel comfortable giving you some of this advice to be able to help navigate these crazy times. And as far as that goes, I wanna make one strong point as we're getting ready to close for today. Nothing can happen fast enough. We can't get these homes back fast enough. We can't start buying things fast enough. We'll never be able to get some things back. But we wanna get back to some sense of normal and it cannot happen fast enough. The problem is because there are so many people affected by this and there are only so many trained claims adjusters, let alone claims adjusters that are specifically dealing with catastrophe losses, let alone claims adjusters that deal with catastrophe losses that focus on California. I mean, you can see where I'm going here. As much as you want this to be done right now, right now, right now, it is going to be difficult to have it done as quickly as we want. So I have to really beg you, try and set your expectations that this is going to take an element of time and patience, as much as I wish it didn't. There is simply not the ability to have enough people where you can contact your claims adjuster and expect to get a call back within an hour. It's not gonna happen, maybe not even the same day. So set your expectations low. You might be surprised, but seriously, understand that this is not going to happen overnight. Even if the adjuster called you back within five minutes, it's not going to mean your house is going to be built any sooner if they still are looking for ways to clean the air in the area that the home was burned in, okay? Again, my heart goes out to all of you. that have been affected by these fires, whether directly, indirectly, a total loss, a partial loss, smoke damage, you name it, whatever it is, if you were employed by people that lost their homes, you're suffering as well. The tale on this just goes on and on and on. Anything I can do, please reach out. You can call me or text anytime, 559-656-0317. I am Karl Susman. You have been learning from Insurance Hour. Please stay safe. If there's anything I can do, reach out. And I will talk with you very soon, once again. Stay safe. 1-7. You may also send your questions to Questions@InsuranceHour.com. Informing, educating, and entertaining one policy at a time, this is Insurance Hour. The show is dedicated to Shamrock Papa.