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From
: Lila Hayes
Sent : June 08, 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.
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Editor's Note
---
Please remember that June 26 will be our last
official meeting at the Calvary Baptist Church. We are very grateful that
they have donated their space to us this past year and 8 months.
Starting in July we will be visiting survivors
homes once a month until the two year anniversary in October 2005. The
first one will be July 24th, 2PM at Margie & Joe Arnett's located at 1681
Echo Drive. This will be a potluck event so please bring something to
share! If there is anyone else located within a couple of blocks of this
location, we would also love to visit your house. Please let me know in
advance!
---
Index
1. All Fees Now Waived for Gas Company
Hookups!
2. Free Reclaimed Building
Materials
3. Book Review: Payment Refused
4. Red Cross has Fire Recovery
Money
5. SB2 update
---
In The News
1. Winter Rains Raise Wildfire Risk, June 4, 2005 LA Times
2. Fire Destroys 2 Homes, Badly Damages 2
Others, June 2, 3005, LA Times
3. Laguna to Name Slide Coordinator, June 6, 2005, LA Times
4. Towns in Big Storms' Path Still
Winded, May 30, 2005, LA
Times
5. Laguna Beach
mom awakens to landslide nightmare, June 1, 2005, Riverside
Press Enterprise
---
1. All Fees Now Waived for Gas Company
Hookups!
---
I just received a message from Jeff Graden, the
District Operations Manager, San Bernardino/Rim Forest/Beaumont area for the Gas
Company.
"I was able to have the one year
deadline for the $25.00 eliminated at this time for any other Firestorm
victims who have their gas turned on at the same property that was
destroyed."
At this point, there is no set deadline for this
fee waiver to expire, but they have reserved the right to start charging the
re-establishment fee again at a future date.
---
2.
Free Reclaimed Building
Materials
---
Gary Madden, the director of the 211 project in our
area has informed me that there is a "big beautiful house in Banning" that will
be torn down by the end of the month. The owner of the building has
informed Gary that if any fire survivors would like to salvage anything from the
house they are welcome to do so.
"There will be a “take it
all” period on June 28-30. The current owners have to be out by July
1st but they will be moving the week before. However, there is a
cottage next to the house. It has a shower, toilet, etc that can be removed
now.
"Jeff, the current
owner has given me permission to give you his phone number to give out if
anyone from the fire group wants specific information.
951-922-8113."
---
3. Book Review: Payment
Refused
---
I know I said I was only going to review 4 books,
but Amy of United Policyholders
saw I was reading disaster recovery/insurance books and forwarded a copy of
this book to me.
Payment Refused was written by William M
Shernoff, the attorney who basically pioneered Bad Faith litigation and who's
firm's representatives (located in Claremont) have visited our meetings and
taken on some fire survivor cases. Specifically, Van Garris,
who works at his office, spent many hours at our meetings answering
questions about the insurance industry.
Payment Refused was published in 2004
by William & Sons. The editor's note mentions that this
book includes content from several earlier works by Mr Shernoff.
Those works include the first edition of Payment Refused, 1985, How
to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims, 1990 and Fight Back
and Win, 1998.
The first 10 chapters are the stories of 10 of Mr.
Shernoff's previous clients. He seemed to have selected these cases based
on the precedent they set and to show some of the tactics the insurance company
uses when "adjusting" your claim. Some people might find the
circumstances of some of these cases oddly familiar.
I have to admit, if I had read this book right
after the fire, it might have scared me more than motivated me... I mean, who
among us wanted to think the insurance company was anything other than acting in
our best interest? No one wanted to think we'd have to keep track of what
the adjuster was telling us, find the need to fight them or in some
cases, even hire a lawyer!!! Maybe once we were a little bit into the
process, when it became obvious that we needed to cover our own tail to keep
them in line the first 10 chapters of the book would've been a little bit more
welcome.
This quote, found on Page 128 of the book is quite
telling:
"Unfortunately, as you will learn
later in Part II of this book, the message [given by the courts to Aetna in
the form of a $116 mil punitive award] heard by the industry was not "treat
people better," but rather, "do whatever you can to keep cases of misconduct
out of court."
From what I've seen, this really does seem to be
the "modus operandi" of the insurance company. Cover your tail. That
is where Part II of the book comes in really handy and necessary as soon as your
immediate needs are met and you're ready to call the insurance company for the
first time. Chapter 11 is "Practical and Legal Tips for Filing an
Insurance Claim". The tips are broad and general, but do ring true.
The basic tips are in bold to help you recognize them right away.
Some of the more general tips help you to realize
that the insurance company is not the end all of interpreting your policy such
as:
"The courts have held that where
insurance policy language is unclear, the language will be construed against
the insurance company."
Some of the other tips are things many survivors
don't think to do right away, but can be absolutely crucial later on.
Things like keeping a phone log, and a journal, get everything in writing.
One of the more practical tips is a list of four things you should include with
every written correspondence. He also mentions that you can find the name
and address of the president of each insurance company from the A.M Best
& Co. Rating Book of Insurance Companies found at your local
library. Who would've known???
This book also goes into detail about insurance
other than property insurance such as health and disability insurance.
HMO's are of particular interest and occupy at least two or three
chapters.
This book is very valuable for anyone filing an
insurance claim. It is especially valuable when coupled with other books
and some sort of one-on-one classroom type instruction. Some of these
cases I remember George Kehrer bringing up in our weekly meetings and I remember
wanting to know more background of the cases, but not knowing where to
turn. This is particularly valuable for those survivors who really need to
see it from multiple sources before they believe it (like me).
---
4. Red Cross has Fire Recovery
Money
---
The Red Cross still has money for 2003 Firestorm
Survivors. Did you run out of ALE? Are you coming up short on
rebuilding? Did you rebuild and now don't have money to furnish your
home? Do you have repairs that need to be done on the trailer you're
living in? Do you have other needs that you're not sure if the Red Cross
will help with?
Please call the American Red Cross at 909-888-1485
and leave a message. A caseworker will call you back to discuss those
needs.. There might be more help available to you, and the Red Cross will
help you with the paperwork to receive it.
---
5. SB2 Update
---
Amy Bach, from United Policyholders, has
sent her analysis of SB2 in it's current form. It is a few pages long
though, so I have posted it to our website, right next to the other legislative
links. Visit www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org and
click on "Resources" then on "Org & Govt Help" then scroll down to the SB2
area.
I have received the following from Karen Reimus, a
fire survivor from the San Diego area.
Its official - Senate Bill
2, the sweeping homeowner's insurance reform package authored IN DIRECT response
to problems/concerns raised by our community after the Cedar Fire, is scheduled
to go before the State Assembly Banking, Finance & Insurance Committee next
Wednesday, 6/15. Given the extremely "interesting" comments by the
Senators when SB 2 was in front of the Senate Banking, Finance & Insurance
Committee in April (including commentary that people who lose their homes should
just live with relatives during the entire rebuild), I have no doubt that next
Wednesday's hearing will not be boring.
In all
candor, getting out of this Committee is likely the biggest hurdle the bill will
face (other than finally being signed by the Governor).
The good news is that the Assembly Committee is
chaired by a local Assemblyman: Assemblyman Juan Vargas. While most
of us do not live within his actual district, it seems pretty clear that
Assemblyman Vargas is trying to position himself to eventually make a bid for US
Congress. In other words, I am confident he will be EXTREMELY responsive
to a STRONG public urging of his support for this
bill.
PLEASE TAKE 30 SECONDS TO CONTACT
HIS OFFICE AT (619)409-7979 AND ASK HIM TO SUPPORT SENATE BILL 2. If you
feel funny about what to say, try the following:
"HI. MY NAME
IS _________________. I AM CALLING TO URGE ASSEMBLYMAN VARGAS TO VOTE YES
ON SENATE BILL 2 NEXT WEEK. I APPRECIATE HIM SUPPORTING HOMEOWNER'S
INSURANCE REFORM."
Thank you for taking
the time to improve the plight of future disaster survivors. This entire
community has so much to be proud of - we have not only worked on our own
recovery in amazing fashion - we are also trying to improve the system for the
future.
Kindest regards, Karen
Reimus
---
In The News
---
1. Winter Rains Raise Wildfire
Risk
New growth increases the threat, fire
officials say. A Kern County blaze is contained, and one near Cabazon is 70%
surrounded.
June 4, 2005
By
Lance Pugmire, LA Times Staff Writer
After wildfires blackened hard-to-reach mountain
areas of Riverside and Kern counties, Southern California fire officials on
Friday said they expected a volatile fire season this year because of the
excessive brush growth that followed the region's near-record
rainfall.
2. Fire Destroys 2 Homes, Badly
Damages 2 Others
IN BRIEF THE REGION / CEDAR GLEN
From Times Wire Reports
June 2,
2005
Two homes were destroyed and two were badly damaged
Wednesday by a fire in an area ravaged by a wildfire in 2003.
The fire,
which may have started in one of the homes, began shortly after noon and spread
quickly to three other houses, San Bernardino County fire officials said. Less
than an acre burned.
3. Laguna to Name Slide
Coordinator
The official will oversee recovery efforts in devastated Bluebird Canyon,
seek storage space and work with state, federal authorities.
June 6, 2005
By Seema Mehta and Dave McKibben, LA Times Staff
Writers
Laguna Beach officials today expect to name a
director to oversee recovery efforts in Bluebird Canyon, struck last week by a
landslide that destroyed or seriously damaged 22 homes and left more than two
dozen others at least temporarily unsafe.
City officials said Sunday that
they planned to choose the recovery director as they await a state disaster
declaration that would allow the city and residents to qualify for emergency
funds.
4. Towns in Big Storms' Path Still
Winded
The state limps into a new hurricane
season with thousands of families still displaced by last year's quadruple
whammy.
May 30, 2005
By John-Thor Dahlburg, LA Times
Staff Writer
FROSTPROOF, Fla. — A blue tarp still covers the
tattered roof of the wood-frame home that was lashed by not one but three
hurricanes last year. When 62-year-old Bobby Curtis, who has had two open-heart
surgeries, feels up to it, he whittles away at the downed tree in the backyard,
leaning on his cane as he wields a chain saw.
"We've got to get
shingles," says his wife, Nell, 66, "we've got to get a roof and we've got to
cut up the tree."
So are the Curtises, retirees from the local
orange-processing plant, ready to face yet another hurricane
season?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-frostproof30may30,1,4434997.story5. Laguna Beach mom awakens to
landslide nightmare
06:04 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 1, 2005
By BEN FOX / The Associated
Press
LAGUNA BEACH - Jill Lockhart's nightmare began when she was
awakened Wednesday by the sounds of her neighborhood falling apart wood
cracking, glass shattering, jackhammer noises she couldn't identify.
[of particular interest in this article... speaking of previous
disasters in this area]
An October 1993 fire swept down into the city and destroyed some
400 homes. Most were rebuilt within a half-dozen
years.
[more HERE]
http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/stories/pe-news-state_laguna_mom01.2d202025f.html
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