By Elise Linscott
The two recent fires that have caused devastation in drought-stricken California, which has already suffered multiple fires this year, not only consumed thousands of acres of land throughout the state but also presented a huge challenge to the state’s insurance industry.
Insurance commissioner Dave Jones visited the site of the Butte fire this week, and met with those affected by the Valley fire earlier this month. “In both fires we saw a great degree of devastation, homes burnt to ash, only chimneys left standing, businesses destroyed, power lines down, and apartment complexes reduced to ash,” Jones said this week.
So far, in the Butte fire there have been 1,085 claims, of which 259 were total loss claims. In the Valley Fire there have been a total of 1,188 claims, of which 538 were for total loss; however, those numbers are continuing to grow, Jones said.
“We’ve been in contact with insurers to make sure they have enough people on site to answer claims,” he said. “We’ve had an opportunity to help some consumers with disputes with insurers, but by and large so far insurers have been very responsive and we’re pleased to see that.”
And for brokers working in the affected areas, there’s still a long road to recovery as claims continue to pour in.
“There’s a tremendous amount of work to be done,” Jones said. “Insurers are just processing claims and homeowners and other residents have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them to rebuild. These are very early days. But the good news is there have been a lot of donations, the Red Cross is on site, and there has been an outpouring of support across California to help the victims.”
