< Back

From : Lila Hayes
Sent : June 01, 2005
Subject : OFRG weekly update

Meeting Reminder

Our next meeting will be on June 12 we will be having Chris Kincaid from Milgard Windows and Doors who will be sharing information regarding their products.

 

Lila Hayes
Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax

 
---
Index
 1. Electricity Discounts
 2. Book Review :Policy Ensurance
 3. Gas hook-up procedures and fees
 
---
In The News
 1. Calif. Senate Passes Bill to Help Homeowners Following Disasters, May 25, 2005, Insurance Journal
 2. AIA Opposes California Bill to Limit Home Inventories, May 26, 2005, Insurance Journal
 3. Laguna Beach Homes Destroyed in Slide, June 1 2005, LA Times
 4. Public will hear water options, May 20, 2005, SB Sun
 
---
1. Electricity Discounts
---
Please do not forget to contact Neil Derry when you get a temporary power pole and have him change you from the higher commercial rate to the lower residential rate. Customer service does NOT know about this procedure.  Only Neil Derry can help you.  If you are already past this stage, call him anyway so you can get a rebate for the difference.  My mother received over $200 (if not $300) credit on her bill.  His number is 909-930-8501 /PAX 16501.
 
If you don't mind, let me know the result.
 
---
2. Book Review :Policy Ensurance
---
Policy Ensurance is written by Tony Braga and published by Acorn Library.  The first copyright was 1977, but has gone through many updates and was just updated and republished this year (2005).  The book is available at bookstores and online at stores such as Amazon.  The list price is $17.95, but I had no problem finding it for about $11 and even Amazon is selling it now for $12.21.  It is also available for download for $6.95 on his website at www.sure-net.com
 
Tony was an insurance company adjuster for many years.  He explains his job was to "...make company inspired settlements with policyholders who lacked fundamental information and adjusting skills."  He explains that "Knowledge is leverage.  The more you know, the more you have adjusting power.... It is the continuing fate of unknowing, unprepared policyholders to deal ineffectively.... It is difficult to imagine doing something in an area of which you know little or nothing, no matter how simple the task."
 
This book is a must have for anyone filing a claim.  We all should've read it BEFORE we even called the insurance company. In a perfect world it would've been handed out at the FEMA center with a note as to where the next insurance class would be held. (Okay, now I am dreaming.)
 
The first part of the book helps form the mindset that it is OUR responsibility to determine our loss, not the adjusters.  It is the adjuster's responsibility to determine how much the insurance company will pay the claimant.  The difference between the loss and what the adjuster initially agrees to pay is where the bargaining (aka adjusting) begins.
 
The book is packed with useful information.  It lists insurance deadlines and has blank forms as well as example forms showing you how you should fill them out.  The book covers the history of property insurance as well as insurance company monetary statistics, lists of regulatory authorities, unfair claims practices codes and regulations, quotes from adjusters training books (scary) and California's Unfair Practice insurance Codes.  The middle of the book does get a bit dry with dozens... if not hundreds... of court cases showing you how the court has ruled in the past, but can be invaluable for a claimant trying to win a point.  In short, this book is an invaluable resource all in one short (148 page, large type) book. 
 
The author maintains a website with active newsgroups where you can post questions and get answers.  The author has even extended a bulk discount on the book to community leaders in a disaster area.  The following could be printed out and given to survivors informing them of the book's existence.
http://www.disasterprepared.net/disasterprepared.html
 
In the end, this book would have a hard time replacing a face-to-face seminar.  Right after a disaster people are still in shock so reading a book and absorbing something of this nature might prove difficult, but this would be invaluable for any disaster relief worker to read and even hand out (or at least inform using a flyer) to survivors.  It could also be used as a type of text book (and an inexpensive one at that) for someone holding a face-to-face seminar.
 
I highly encourage everyone to read this book.  Many people have said they want to help future disaster survivors, and handing out this book (along with CARe and other information we have collected) would be a great first step.
 
---
3. Gas hookup procedures and fees
---
Recently I had a flyer at our meeting explaining the gas hookup procedure.  This can also be found on our website at www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org and clicking on "Resources" then on "Cleanup & Rebuilding".  Scroll down to the center of the page and look for "Gas Service Re-Instatement for Firestorm Victims"
 
You should be aware that there will still be a $25 reinstatement fee for survivors hooking up after the one year anniversary, however the normal fees (which can range from $500 - $750) will be waived.
 
---
In The News
---

1. Calif. Senate Passes Bill to Help Homeowners Following Disasters

May 25, 2005

Insurance companies would be required to pay living expenses for two years instead of one for homeowners who lose their houses in fires or other natural disasters under a bill approved Monday by the state Senate.

[more HERE]
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2005/05/25/55435.htm
 
2. AIA Opposes California Bill to Limit Home Inventories
May 26, 2005

[more HERE]
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2005/05/26/55480.htm

3. Laguna Beach Homes Destroyed in Slide
June 1, 2005
Houses cracked, telephone poles snapped and streets buckled as a landslide sent homes sliding down a hill in Laguna Beach before dawn this morning, leaving large homes dangling in the air.

[more HERE]
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-060105slide_lat,0,118386.story?coll=la-home-headlines

4. Public will hear water options
Study of Cedar Glen's system conducted
May 20, 2005
By George Watson, SB Sun Staff Writer

In an attempt to clear up questions regarding the water system in Cedar Glen, residents can listen today to the results of a feasibility study of the complex situation.

[more HERE]
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E2880646,00.html?search=filter

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For removal or subscription to the OFRG Weekly Update, please email info@oldfirerecoverygroup.org
 
Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax