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From : Lila Hayes
Sent : August 03, 2005
Subject : OFRG weekly update
Meeting Reminder
Our next get together will be the fourth Sunday of
August at 2PM.
Please let us know if you are able to host the next
get together! There are a lot of survivors on El Camino... anyone complete
yet? Do you know anyone who is complete yet and who wants to meet other
fire survivors? We had a smashing success in July and visited 3 people's
houses who have never been to a meeting! Will anyone volunteer to knock on
your completed neighbors doors to ask if they want to be involved?
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Index
1. Free Inventory Software
2. Insurers giving "discount"
3. A note from Barbara Boxer
4. Book Review: How to Make Insurance
Companies Pay Your Claims
---
On The Net
1. Home Fire Fighting Systems
2. Arnett's website (update)
---
In The News
1. Wildfire chars one home along its
eight-acre path, July 28, 2005, The Riverside Press-Enterprise
2.
Hauling by helicopter, August 1, 2005, The Riverside
Press-Enterprise
3. Rekindled (an essay), July 31, 2005, LA
Times
4. A Region in Review, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, August 3, 2005
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1.
Free Inventory Software
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The Insurance Information Institute (III) has made
available free Personal Property Inventory software that you can download
at:
Here is what Sharon Cords, a survivor in San
Bernardino, had to say about it.
We saw a commentary on television and downloaded
the software. It's impressive!
One can take complete inventory of all their
household items by room and category, i.e. lamps, furniture, clothing,
bedding, etc. There is a place for photos of the items and the original
receipt can be scanned and put in the data. We have begun adding in all
the new furniture, appliances, lamps, rugs, artwork, etc. as we buy it for our
newly rebuilt home. I think it is easier to put things into it as you buy
them, so it doesn't get to be such a huge job later on.
Guess we have all learned quite a bit about
insurance companies and contractors, etc. this past 21 months, and this
software is just one more way to help out if and when the need comes about
again. We plan to take copies of our itemized list and place one in a
safety deposit box at our bank and mail one to relatives out of state, and
keep another one with a trusted neighbor. CD's are inexpensive these
days and could prove to save us all a bunch of
heartache!!
I can see how this might be useful for
keeping organized after a disaster as well. Thank you Sharon for sending
in this tip!
---
2. Insurers giving
"discount"
---
My mother received a letter from Farmers which
included the following:
"At Farmers, we appreciate your business and your
situation, so we're pleased we can now offer you a little extra
help.
"We have received approval from the Department of
Insurance for our California 2003 Wildfires Special Discount
Endorsement."
They basically offered her a refund on part of the
premium she has been paying since the fire because the house no longer
exists.
If you receive a letter such as this from your
insurance company, be happy, but don't let it fool you.
Remember that this past year AB2962
passed which "requires insurers to adjust premiums to reflect the changed
exposure to risk upon a renewal of a policy, after the homeowner has experienced
a total loss." The effects of this bill should be felt this year. It
requires your insurer, when your policy renews in 2005, to reduce the
amount of coverage on your coverage A to accurately reflect the value of your
house if it no longer exists. If you have not yet replaced your house,
this should reduce your premium on that coverage.
I will admit though that Farmers has taken it one
step farther and offered a refund on premiums charged since the fire
which is not required by AB2962. Of course this might be to get their name
removed from a class action lawsuit being
planned for just this situation.
You might remember the following from our
newsletter:
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3. A note from Barbara Boxer
---
I got this in my inbox and thought you would be
interested:
Dear
Friend:
Last winter’s near-record rains helped to ease
California’s
destructive drought, filled lakes and reservoirs around
our
state, and created wondrous displays of wildflowers. As
we
have already seen this year, it also made certain types of
wildfires
more likely this summer. Our winter rains created
large amounts of
highly flammable brush and grass, in many
cases growing very close to homes
and communities.
There are many steps that you can take to help you
prepare for
fire season. I have a feature on my Senate website
that
includes valuable information on steps to take before, during
and
after a fire. These common-sense approaches may help you
protect your
home and family. You can find my fire feature at
http://boxer.senate.gov/wildfires.cfm I hope this information
is helpful to
you.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States
Senator
---
3. Book Review: How to Make Insurance
Companies Pay Your Claims
---
How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims was written by
William Shernoff and published by Hastings House in 1990. It is the
precursor to the book Payment Refused published in 2004. Although many of
the case histories are the same, this book features more extensive claims tips
and contrary to his newer book, come before the case histories. Just
this one feature makes the book seem more helpful to insurance claimants.
Right out of the shoot, this book seems to be written for the fire
survivor. The first two paragraphs in the book (to get you in the mood)
are as follows:
“It’s your worst nightmare come true.
“Little Johnny was playing with matches again. Thank God Johnny is
all right, but unfortunately you cannot say the same thing about your home,
which would be better described as a giant heap of ashes. After
temporary spasms of panic and grief, you try to get hold of yourself.
‘It’s okay. It’s okay,’ you console yourself. ‘Insurance will take
care if it, right?’”
And so the scenario starts. The next two pages of the book might
sound all too familiar, but it will also bring you to the conclusion “I am not
alone” which is a helpful conclusion in and of its self. It brings a
certain kind of credibility that I know I needed right after our disaster.
The first chapter is everything you should’ve done before the
disaster. Although it might seem like it’s too late to read this chapter
it might help you remember what happened during the time you got your policy. It
also helps you to understand your policy, although in very generic
terms. Another helpful section in chapter one gives some
examples of things which are most likely to give you problems such as exclusions
and paying your policy late.
The most important chapter for people after a disaster is in chapter two:
“How to File an Airtight Insurance Claim”. Although he gives instructions
in an easy to read eight step processes, I don’t see a great deal of
specific instructions for claimants of total losses. Unfortunately, the
format of a book does not allow for this type of detail. This is not to
mean that the book is not useful for these claimants, just that they will need
to look elsewhere for specifics on total loss claims.
The third chapter “How to Challenge an Insurance Ruling” is important once
the insurance company has made a decision that is not in your favor.
Chapter four “How the Legal System Can Work for You” is the natural conclusion
if you can’t get anywhere following the instructions in chapters two and
three.
The last eight chapters are individual stories of claimants who won their
cases against the insurance company. As you might guess, William Shernoff
is a lawyer who takes on insurance companies. In fact, he is one of the
premier “Bad Faith” insurance lawyers in the country.
Overall, this book is a good read for anyone who has a loss, or for people
who want information on buying an insurance policy. This book does cover
all kinds of insurance, but in my opinion is especially good for property
claims. When compared to other books written on insurance claims, it is
definitely written from a lawyer’s point of view, but from my experience, this
is the type of information you will need when filing a claim.
---
On The Net
---
1. Home Fire Fighting
Systems
Interested in having fire fighting equipment in
your home? Check out the following site:
Also included at this website is a copy of a story
I had read right after the fire about an artists compound in Cedar Glen which
was saved from the Old Fire by an in home firefighting system. Ends up, it
was designed by this company!
In a quote from this press release:
"The primary use for our system is to allow you to
defend your defensible space and prevent your property from becoming a secondary
fire incident due to falling ash and debris.”, said Mr. Evraiff, “This is the
first documented ‘save’ with our system and, while we don’t advise homeowners’
to stay with their home and directly fight a raging wildfire, this situation
shows that with the right preparation, proper equipment and a sound plan, a
homeowner can make a difference."
2. Arnett's Website
In our last email update I gave a link to the
Arnett's website. The following is a better link.
---
In The News
---
1. Wildfire chars one home along its
eight-acre path
RIVERSIDE COUNTY: No injuries were reported in
the blaze, which was put out by Wednesday night.
July 28, 2005, The
Riverside Press-Enterprise
As dense smoke veiled a cluster of homes north of
Canyon Lake and southwest of Perris on Wednesday, Dale Montecino waited nearby,
unsure if his house was still standing.
--
2. Hauling by
helicopter
The method of hoisting dead trees to ease area
mountains' fire danger has raised regional interest
August 1, 2005, The
Riverside Press-Enterprise
Helicopter-logging officials believe work under way
in the San Bernardino National Forest to prevent the spread of wildfires will
lead to greater demand for similar projects throughout the western United
States.
--
3. Rekindled (an essay)
The
fire that thawed a frozen marriage By Suzanne Askren
July 31, 2005, LA
Times
I found the books in the attic,
childhood favorites of mine safely clustered inside an old moving box. Now my
daughter lies next to me on the couch, reading stories of sweet escape as I did
so many years before. Watching her turn a faded page, I tell her how happy I am
to share this part of my past with her. I don't tell her of a time it didn't
seem possible this moment could exist, before the fire and all that it helped to
heal.
[more HERE]
(free abstract only, entire essay only availble for a charge)
--
4. A Region in Review
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 3, 2005
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego federal judge Thursday
postponed the sentencing of the hunter convicted of starting the 2003 Cedar fire
and asked prosecutors to decide how many victims will testify at the hearing.
Sergio Martinez, 34, of West Covina pleaded guilty March 11 to setting what
became the largest wildfire in California history and was scheduled to be
sentenced Aug. 5. His lawyers asked for a September sentencing date, but U.S.
District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he'll wait until Aug. 15 before deciding
when to hand down the sentence.
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