Most Calif. Wildfire Home Claims Settled
NU Online News Service, April 21, 11:17 a.m. EDT?A new estimate provided by a California insurance trade group indicates a majority of the more than $1.2 billion in homeowners claims expected from last October's devastating California wildfires have now been settled.[@@]
According to the findings from a new survey by the Insurance Information Network of California, which received responses from 66 percent of the homeowner insurance market in the state, insurers said they have paid and completed 10,811 of their 12,902 residential fire claims?representing some 84 percent of their homeowners claims.
The survey tallied brushfire-related homeowners insurance claims paid through April 12, 2004, the group said.
To date, those claims have resulted in $751,697,999 worth of claims settlements already paid, the survey found. The Los Angeles-based trade group said companies contacted expected those claims to ultimately total $1.26 billion.
The survey also found that while the process of assessing contractors' bids, acquiring building permits and actual rebuilding can sometimes take a year or longer, some 454 of the 1,935 "total loss" claims?or close to 24 percent?had already been settled.
"Fire survivors, insurers and contractors are moving with unprecedented speed to recover from this catastrophe," said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California.
The group also explained that while more than 3,500 homes were lost to the firestorms, the majority of settled insurance claims are for partial losses or household damage caused by smoke or even firefighting materials.
Ms. Miller advised that over the next several months the policyholders may face deadlines for replacing possessions lost in the fire and should keep in mind completion dates for additional living expenses set out in their policy contracts as they schedule their rebuilding effort.
"Most fire survivors have already begun the process of rebuilding their lives by replacing lost possessions and planning their rebuilding process," Ms. Miller said. "However, they should consult with their insurance agent to confirm any upcoming deadlines for property replacement or additional living expense coverage."
In January, another poll conducted by the Insurance Information Network of California found that the companies surveyed had completed 860 of 928 brushfire-related auto insurance claims for a total of $5.01 million. Auto insurance claims were not surveyed in the group's most recent poll.
More than 19,100 insurance homeowners, auto and commercial insurance claims were filed following the wildfires in California last October, according to the Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office. ISO had projected that insured losses from the firestorms will ultimately total $2.04 billion.
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