<
Back
From : Lila Hayes
Sent : October 05, 2005
Subject : OFRG weekly update
Meeting
Reminder
Our September 25 get together was a smashing
success! We visited 4 houses on or near El Camino, in addition to our
wonderful host, Cindy LeClair. Thanks to everyone for your
participation!
We are actively looking for a host for our Oct
23 Two Year Anniversary (and our final) event. Please let me know if
you can be the host for this special event!
---
Index
1. New Forest Plan Released
2. PRESS RELEASE: GOVERNOR SIGNS SOTO’S
DISASTER RECOVERY BILL
3. PRESS RELEASE: Victory for California
Consumers as Senator Speier’s Homeowner’s
Insurance
Bill Becomes Law
4. Other California Legislation passed for
2005 session
---
In The News
1. [Old Fire] Arsonist still elusive,
SB Sun, Sep 28, 2005
2. Battle Plans Pay
Off for Firefighters, Oct 1, 2005, LA Times
3. It Isn't Just Luck:
Safety Measures Saving Homes, Sep 30, 2005, LA Times
4. When disaster
strikes, will your insurer come through for you?, Sep 18, 2005,
San Francisco Chronicle
5. Court OKs
dropped policies, Mar 1, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle
6. Preparing for
a Catastrophe, Oct 2, 2005, LA Times
7. Santa Anas threaten to rekindle
fires, 10/4/05, SB Sun
8. Buying frenzy amid hurricane ruins, 10/3/05,
SB Sun,
9. U.S. judge calls off tour of fire site, Sep 23, 2005, San
Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
10. New focus on quake insurance, Sep 22, 2005, San
Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
11. Blaze crews brace for wind, Oct 4, 2005,
Riverside Press Enterprise
12. Many evacuees struggle with relief red
tape, Oct 3, 2005, Riverside Press Enterprise
13. Governor signs 2
bills by Inland lawmakers, Sep 30, 2005, Riverside Press-Enterprise
14.
Paving the way for rebuilding Cedar Glen, Sep 30, 2005, Riverside
Press-Enterprise
15. A LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY, Oct 5, 2005, LA Times
Staff Writer
16. FEMA Asks Floridians to Give Back Aid, Oct 4, 2005, Associated
Press
17. Tempers Flare as Agents Assess Storm's Damage, Oct 4, 2005,
NY Times
---
On The Web
1. Adopt a Hurricane Survivor
family
2. Insult to Injury - book and "bad faith"
information online
---
1.
New Forest Plan Released
---
I found the following at the SanBernardinoNF Yahoo!
Group.
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 16:28:17
-0000
Subject: New Forest Plan
Released
The Forest Plans for the four Southern California forests has
been
released to the public today.
Here is the link to the
site:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/John
---
2.
PRESS RELEASE: Governor Signs Soto's Disaster Recovery
Bill
---
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 477, a
bill by State Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) to assist California communities in
recovering from disasters.
SB 477 authorizes the Office of Emergency Services
(O.E.S.) to establish a process that would be made available to assist
communities in recovering from emergencies proclaimed by the
Governor.
In a letter she sent to Schwarzenegger last month,
Soto wrote that “The current crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina underscores the
urgent need for this legislation. Katrina’s calamitous aftermath
demonstrates that pre-planning for all aspects of disaster response, including
community recovery, is essential.”
Soto introduced her bill following the dozen major
wildfires which devastated areas of Southern California in 2003. Soto said that
the in wake of those fires – which burned over 750,000 acres, destroyed over
3,700 homes and killed 24 people – “It became clear that communities need a
coordinated effort to recover. We owe it to the victims to improve public
policy based on lessons learned.”
SB 477 addresses community recovery after FEMA and
emergency personnel leave an affected area. Soto’s bill authorizes O.E.S.
to develop a model process on post-emergency recovery operations, which may last
until an effected community is restored to pre-disaster conditions.
“I commend the Governor for signing my bill, which
puts California on track toward improved disaster preparedness and recovery,”
Soto said.
Community recovery projects may include assistance
to individuals, families, and businesses, crisis counseling, disaster
unemployment assistance, farm service assistance, tax relief, insurance and
legal services. These services are provided through partnerships among the
local, State and Federal Government, non-profit agencies, faith-based
organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
Soto notes that after the wildfires in San
Bernardino, FEMA and O.E.S. set up an assistance center and provided loans and
grants to the victims some of the victims who did not have insurance and
qualified. While the assistance did offer some benefit, it has been estimated
that, nearly 15 months after the fires, less than 10% of residents whose homes
were destroyed had acquired permits to rebuild. As a result, communities that
were once teaming with families are now ghost towns.
“At the time of the fires, California lacked a plan
that addressed funding and coordination of state and local activities following
a disaster,” Soto said. “Such a plan would have aided in the recovery of
neighborhoods and businesses.”
Some fire victims told the Senator that they found
deficiencies in the effective management of the recovery process, the provision
of adequate interim shelter and housing, the planning and resources available
for long-term, post-disaster housing, and adequate knowledge and preparation by
the public for effective recovery.
“Due to a lack of organization and coordination,
there were inequities between what fire survivors’ communities received in some
areas compared to others,” Soto says. “For example, some areas have long term
“disaster recovery centers” where survivors and disaster relief organizations
and others offering support can meet. Such centers do not exist in the San
Bernardino region, where there was confusion about the kind of resources that
are available to survivors.”
In her letter to Schwarzenegger, Soto stressed that
“It is essential that California adopt an effective post-disaster community
recovery process. Communities struck by disasters often experience a void in
human services in the areas of immediate response and long-term recovery.
“In the initial minutes and hours following a
disaster, affected communities rely on emergency services to respond, yet many
human needs go unmet due to limited resources,” Soto said. “Volunteer
organizations, traditionally and impressively active following disasters, still
have to muster people and resources before they can begin to operate. A
successful community recovery relies on local decision making, primarily
tailoring most things according to the local needs. My legislation will help
facilitate such decision-making.”
Under SB 477, O.E.S. could become the coordinator
of the recovery process, or local agencies can coordinate recovery, depending on
the situation. Soto’s bill asks 477 asks O.E.S. representatives to be
onsite as soon as practicable after an emergency or natural disaster occurs,
allow the office to coordinate the use of temporary services, and authorize
O.E.S. to coordinate the establishment of temporary structures (including local
assistance centers, showers and bathroom facilities, and temporary
administrative offices). O.E.S. would also be called upon to encourage the
participation of nongovernmental organizations in the community recovery process
to supplement recovery activities undertaken by federal or local
agencies.
David W. Miller
Press Secretary
Senator Nell Soto
State Capitol, Room 4074
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 651-4751
---
3. PRESS RELEASE: Victory for California Consumers
as Senator Speier’s
---
Homeowner’s Insurance Bill Becomes Law
SACRAMENTO—As wildfires rage in Southern
California, State Senator Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) today
praised the Governor for signing SB 2, legislation that gives eligible
homeowners up to two years of additional living expenses after an insured loss
during a declared state of emergency.
“This new law will provide an essential safety net
for insured homeowners who are victims of wildfires and other catastrophic
events,” said Speier.
Speier says the Southern California fires in 2003
showed that widespread losses of housing led to skyrocketing replacement costs
and delays in construction.
Survivors from the 2003 San Diego fires also
praised the new law saying it will prevent other consumers from facing
both a rent payment and mortgage.
“Speaking as a 2003 fire survivor, I definitely
know SB2 will make the way easier for those affected by a catastrophic
loss. We know that there will be future wildfire survivors. I
applaud Senator Speier for introducing, supporting and getting the legislation
passed,” said Karen Reimus, San Diego fire survivor and a Scripps Ranch
resident.
---
4. California Legislation passed for 2005
session
---
The following was provided by Dian
B.
AB 1640, Saldana Insurance claims information.
Existing law generally regulates how insurers maintain information related to adverse underwriting decisions.
This bill, as of July 1, 2006, would require any insurer who issues a policy of insurance covering residential property, if it
reports claims history or loss experience to an insurance support organization, to provide the insured,within a certain period, with a
specified disclosure regarding contacting the claims information database, and to include the disclosure
in the California Residential Property Insurance Bill of Rights. for full bill: click on link: HTML
SB 2 by Senator Jackie
Speier - Homeowners' insurance: valuation: continuing
education.
SB 2 protects fire victims in a disaster area by
requiring insurers to offer additional living expense (ADL) coverage for 24
months while their home is being re-built and provide a list
of ADL. covered items
Existing law requires an applicant for a fire and casualty broker-agent license to complete courses in a prelicensing
curriculum, and to pass an examination. Existing law requires fire and casualty broker
agents to meet specified continuing education requirements.
This bill would require the curriculum committee of the Department of Insurance, in 2006, to make recommendations to the
Insurance Commissioner to instruct fire and casualty broker-agents and personal lines broker-agents, and applicants for fire and casualty and personal lines broker-agent licenses, in proper methods of estimating
the replacement value of structures, and of recommending appropriate levels of coverage under a homeowners' insurance policy.
Existing law provides that, under a specified type of homeowners' insurance policy, when a state of emergency has been declared, no
time limit of less than 24 months from the date that the first payment toward the actual cash value is made shall be placed upon an
insured in order to collect the full replacement cost of the loss, subject to the policy limit.
This bill would provide, in addition, as of January 1, 2007, that if a state of emergency has been declared, coverage for additional
living expenses shall be for a period of 24 months, but shall be subject to other policy provisions, provided that any extension of
time beyond the period provided in the policy shall not act to increase the additional living expense policy limit in force at the
time of the loss.
The bill would require an insurer, in the event of a loss under a homeowners' insurance policy for which the insured has made
a claim for additional living expenses, to provide the insured with a list of items that the insurer believes may be covered under
the policy as additional living expenses.
Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2008, a mediation program for disputes arising out of certain auto insurance,
earthquake insurance, and homeowners' insurance claims.
This bill would make this program permanent, and would make specified changes to the homeowners' and earthquake claims to
which it applies. The bill would make certain other changes to the provisions governing the mediation program.
The bill would incorporate changes made by SB 518 that would become operative if both bills are enacted and this bill is enacted
after SB 518.
SB 477 by Senator Nell Soto
Emergency services: recovery process.
Existing law, the Disaster Assistance Act, requires that the Director of the Office of Emergency Services provide financial
assistance to local agencies for public real property that is damaged or destroyed by a disaster.
This bill would authorize the office to establish a model process that would be made available to assist a community in recovering
from an emergency proclaimed by the Governor and would provide that the process may consider, among other things, the role
of the office as an advisor and facilitator for the community recovery process, procedures to provide that the office has \
representation onsite as soon as practicable after the Governor proclaims a state of emergency, the role of the office to facilitate
the use of temporary services, the role of the office to facilitate the establishment of temporary structures, including local assistance
centers, showers and bathroom facilities, and temporary administrative offices, and measures to encourage the participation of nongovernmental
organizations in the community recovery process to supplement recovery activities undertaken by federal or local agencies.
To
read the point by point issues:HTML
SB 518 by Senator Christine Kehoe
- Homeowners' insurance: insurance adjusters.
SB 518
protects victims of a natural disaster by granting them an addition 24 months of
living expense coverage following a declared state of emergency and requiring
insurers to deliver consumers a copy of their homeowners' insurance policy
within 30 days.
This bill would
require an insurer, after a covered loss, to provide, free of charge, a complete
copy of the insured's current insurance policy or certificate within This bill would require an insurer,
after a covered loss, to provide, free of charge, a complete copy of the
insured's current insurance policy or certificate within 30 calendar days
of receipt of a request from the insured. It
would provide that an insured who does not experience a covered loss
shall, upon request, be entitled to one free copy of his or her current
insurance policy or certificate annually.
Existing law
prohibits an insurer, with respect to certain homeowners' insurance policies,
from placing upon an insured a time limit of less than 12 months from the date
that the first payment toward the actual cash value is made in order for the
insured to collect the full replacement cost of the loss, subject to the policy
limit.
This bill would
provide that, as of January 1, 2007, in the event of a covered loss
relating to a state of emergency, as defined, coverage for additional
living expenses shall be for a period of 24 months, but shall be subject
to other policy provisions, provided that any extension of time beyond
the period provided in the policy shall not act to increase the
additional living expense policy limit in force at the time of the loss.
Existing law
requires an insurer under a homeowners' insurance policy to provide certain
disclosures to an insured. Existing
law allows the commissioner, with respect to one of these disclosures, to modify
that disclosure only upon the request of an insurer.
This bill would
apply this limitation on modification to other disclosures, as specified.
Existing law
requires an applicant for a license to act as a public insurance adjuster to
meet specified requirements, including passing a licensing examination and
posting a surety bond or cash in the sum of $5,000. Existing law provides that the
examination requirement is waived for specified applicants.
This bill would
raise the required amount of the bond or cash to $20,000. It would delete
the provision providing for waiver of the examination requirement for
certain applicants.
Existing law sets
forth the grounds for denying, suspending, or revoking a license to act as an
insurance adjuster or public insurance adjuster.
This bill would
make specified changes to the grounds for denying, suspending, or
revoking those licenses.
Existing law
requires that a contract between a public insurance adjuster and a client
include specified provisions and information.
This bill would
require that certain additional information relating to the insured, the
insurer, and the adjuster be included in such a contract, and would
prohibit a contract of this type from containing specified provisions. It
would require that a public insurance adjuster provide the client with a
written disclosure prior to the signing of the contract, as specified.
The bill would make certain changes to the duties owed by the adjuster to
the client.
Existing law
prohibits a public adjuster from initiating any contract with a policyholder
between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.
This bill would
instead prohibit a public adjuster from initiating
any contact with a policyholder between those
hours.
Existing law
provides that, if a client cancels a contract with a public insurance adjuster,
the adjuster is not entitled to receive compensation for services performed
prior to the cancellation.
This bill would allow a public insurance
adjuster to receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket emergency expenses
paid for the client prior to cancellation if the adjuster provides the
client with a specified statement. The bill would impose additional regulatory requirements on public
insurance adjusters relating to disclosures and receiving money on
behalf of an insured.
Existing law allows
an expired public adjuster's license or branch office certificate to be renewed
within 5 years of its expiration if certain requirements are met.
This bill would
instead provide that an expired license or certificate may be renewed
within one year of its expiration if those conditions are met.
The bill would
incorporate changes made by SB 2 that would become operative if both bills are
enacted and this bill is enacted after SB 2. for full bill: HTML
---
In The News (some
links might require free registration)
---
1. Arsonist still
elusive
Old Fire remains unsettling
Gina Tenorio, SB Sun
Staff Writer , Sep 28, 2005
It is silent along Old Waterman
Canyon Road when the construction work isn't in progress.
Scars on the earth
left by the Old Fire have disappeared slowly beneath regrowth. Brush and grass
have sprouted. The hillside above the road, once the starting point of one of
the most devastating fires in California history, is alive.
On Oct. 25, 2003, an arson fire raged through the
area like a fire-breathing dragon that spread destruction across a wide swath,
from the densely urban areas to vast, uninhabited mountain
stretches.
--
2. Battle Plans Pay Off for
Firefighters
October 1, 2005
Officials acted quickly to gain the upper hand
on the Topanga blaze. Water-dropping copters, a strong radio network and luck
played a part.
By Amanda Covarrubias and Hector Becerra, LA Times
Staff Writers
A massive, rapid and well-coordinated response — along with a little
bit of luck — allowed firefighters this week to successfully battle a blaze that
at its peak threatened about 2,000 homes, but destroyed only two.
--
3. It Isn't Just Luck: Safety Measures
Saving Homes
September 30, 2005
Building and
landscape rules adopted after the massive 2003 blazes are making a difference in
protecting structures, fire officials say.
By Catherine Saillant and Amanda covarrubias, Times
Staff Writers
For Southern California homeowners, the
16,000-acre Topanga fire provided proof of an important lesson, fire officials
said: Rigorous brush clearance and fire-resistant construction methods can
substantially reduce the risk posed by the region's inevitable wildfires.
Flames broke out Wednesday in an area along the Ventura-Los Angeles county
line that has experienced major growth in the last two decades, most of it
upscale hillside homes that were required to comply with the strictest
fire-safety laws.
[more
HERE]
--
4. When disaster strikes, will your insurer
come through for you?
Ray Bourhis
San Francisco Chronicle,
Sunday, September 18, 2005
As people and businesses begin to pick up the
pieces of their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the issue of
insurance claims is slowly beginning to emerge as a critical one. In Louisiana
alone, thousands of homeowners and businesses are insured with policies covering
hurricane damage. Will insurance providers pay to repair (or replace) commercial
and residential property losses? Will they provide coverage for business
interruption? Health-care costs? Personal-property losses? Will the carriers
handle claims in good faith, or will they conjure up convoluted arguments,
low-ball legitimate bids, demand nonexistent documentation, cause protracted
delay, and play endless claims games, intimidating insureds into accepting a
fraction of what they are owed? The prognosis is bleak.
--
5. Court OKs dropped policies
Home insurers can cancel coverage after claims
filed
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, March 1, 2005
State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has no
power to stop insurance companies from canceling coverage for homeowners who
file claims or make inquiries about losses, a state appeals court ruled Monday.
--
6. Preparing
for a Catastrophe
October 2, 2005
David Colker
A portable
charger for your cellphone and a radio with its own power supply can help get
you through a natural disaster.
As we've learned only too well in the last few
weeks, the key to making it through a natural disaster is preparation. That's
why I've carefully packed emergency kits for work, home and the car,
appropriately stocked with gear, canned goods, important documents and water.
Right. And I floss after every meal.
--
7. Santa Anas threaten to rekindle
fires
10/4/05, SB Sun
SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST
Possible Santa Ana winds and recent wildfires have prompted San Bernardino
National Forest Supervisor Gene Zimmerman to implement additional fire
restrictions.
Effective Monday, the restriction level was raised to very
high, Zimmerman announced in a press release. No open campfires will be allowed,
even in developed campgrounds and picnic areas.
--
8. Buying frenzy amid hurricane ruins
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press
as printed in the SB
Sun, 10/3/05
BILOXI, Miss. — Rubble piles bear "For Sale" signs.
Homes without roofs are being sold as-is. Placards announcing "We Buy Houses,
Cash!," are posted on corners throughout middle-class neighborhoods.
The
Mississippi coast, wracked by Hurricane Katrina, is caught up in a real estate
rush, as speculators and those looking to replace their own wrecked homes
pinpoint broken and battered waterfront neighborhoods. In the weeks since the
hurricane, prices of many homes even damaged properties have jumped 10 to 20
percent.
--
9. U.S. judge calls off tour of fire site
He is to sentence hunter who started Cedar blaze
By
Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 23, 2005
A federal judge changed his mind yesterday about
visiting the site of the Cedar fire's origin before sentencing the man convicted
of starting the largest wildfire in state history.
Judge Roger T. Benitez said the logistics of a
judicial tour would be too difficult and that he will instead read written
statements from witnesses before he sentences Sergio Martinez for setting the
October 2003 blaze.
--
10. New focus on quake
insurance
Garamendi wants more
affordability
By Garance Burke
ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 22, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO – As officials grapple with the
financial and physical ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina, momentum is building
to make earthquake insurance offered by the semipublic California Earthquake
Authority more affordable.
Fewer than 15 percent of California homeowners pay
to protect property against earthquakes. That is about half the number who had
earthquake coverage in 1995, the year after the magnitude-6.7 Northridge
earthquake, which with $40 billion in losses was the nation's costliest natural
disaster before Katrina.
--
11. Blaze crews brace for
wind
12:49 AM PDT on Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Riverside Press
Enterprise
By DUANE W. GANG and LISA B. McPHERON / The
Press-Enterprise
With high-tech gear in the air and boots on the
ground, firefighters in the San Bernardino Mountains continued battling the
remnants of a 935-acre blaze Monday and hoped to keep the fire under wraps as
Santa Ana winds are expected to arrive today.
An airplane with an infrared camera mapped the
Thurman Fire's remaining hot spots Monday and fire crews reached a steep, rugged
area near Mountain Home Peak where officials worry that winds could reignite
those smoldering embers.
--
12. Many evacuees struggle with relief red
tape
BUREAUCRACY: Those without means and computer skills say
that getting help is difficult.
Monday,
October 3, 2005
By KATHERINE CORCORAN / Knight
Ridder Newspapers
BATON ROUGE, LA. - For a month now, New Orleans
resident Clarence Williams has watched other Hurricane Katrina victims get
checks from the federal government and the Red Cross within days of applying,
while he has yet to receive a penny.
--
13. Governor signs 2 bills by Inland
lawmakers
SCHWARZENEGGER: He vetoes a third bill written by
Pomona Democrat Nell Soto.
12:00 AM PDT on Friday, September 30,
2005
The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a pair of bills by
Inland lawmakers Thursday. The governor vetoed another measure.
The governor signed the following into law:
--
14. Paving the way for rebuilding Cedar
Glen
Road-improvement plan sparks debate
12:23 AM PDT on
Friday, September 30, 2005
By IMRAN GHORI / The Riverside
Press-Enterprise
Two years after the Old Fire burned more than 300
homes in Cedar Glen, plans for rebuilding the community are starting to be
unveiled by San Bernardino County's Redevelopment Agency.
The plans, which include proposals for improving
roads, attracting commercial development and spurring housing construction,
could go to the county Board of Supervisors for approval as soon as November.
Residents have until Oct. 17 to submit their comments to the agency.
--
15. A LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
Change Sought to Cover
Losses - Mandatory national insurance for disasters such as hurricanes and
earthquakes is getting a serious look. Critics call it a bailout for
carriers.
October 5, 2005
By David Streitfeld, LA Times Staff
Writer
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed such major shortcomings in the nation's
insurance system that regulators from several states are drawing up plans for a
national catastrophe insurance program.
Its backers argue that without a major overhaul, the current system will
once again perform miserably in a big California quake, a major terrorist attack
or storms that echo this season's in size and intensity.
--
16. FEMA Asks Floridians to Give Back Aid
Tue Oct 4,
4:12 PM ET
Associated Press
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - The federal government is asking more than 7,600
Floridians in 60 counties to return $30.3 million in emergency hurricane aid
dispensed last year when a record four hurricanes slammed the state.
Most of the payments the Federal Emergency
Management Agency wants back are because of insurance settlements reached after
the government aid was doled out. By law, FEMA cannot duplicate insurance
coverage, spokesman Jim Homstad said.
--
17. Tempers Flare as Agents Assess Storm's Damage
By
JOSEPH B. TREASTER
Published: October 4, 2005, NY Times
In the Mississippi Gulf Coast town of Bay St. Louis, an angry insurance
customer came at an agent with a gun. Inland, in Picayune, Miss., a claims
adjuster was briefly held hostage in the driveway of a wrecked house. And in
Gulfport, Miss., a businessman strode into a makeshift claims tent, tossed a
stack of other people's claims on the floor and told the clerk, "I'm your
priority now."
---
On The Web (some links might
require free registration)
---
1. Adopt a Hurricane
Survivor family
Our goal is to connect families in need with those
who can help. When you Adopt-A-Family, you get to sponsor a family in
need. Once you receive information on your family, you are
then able to send care packages and write encouraging letters directly to
them. The affected shelters we have helped, say that "this is exactly what
these families need, a little personal touch from the outside
world."
2. Insult to Injury - book and bad faith
information online
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