Wednesday, 24 October 2007
The Insurance Industry and The California Fires
The wildfires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes in southern California are finally being contained in the Los Angeles area, reported the New York Times. Eighty-five percent of the fires in Los Angeles County have been mostly controlled by the hard work of the state’s firefighters, said the article.
The National Weather Service will soon be able to remove the wind advisory because the strong Santa Ana winds have calmed. Fires, however, continue to be uncontained in San Diego County.
The insurance losses will be large, and claims will be sure to pour in. In response, the California Insurance Department has set up assistance centers, where policyholders can ask questions or report problems with their coverage.
“The Department of Insurance has offered to support local officials at their ‘one-stop-shop’ disaster assistance centers, in addition to the facilities coordinated by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services,” said Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
In San Diego, experts have estimated more than $1 billion worth of damage has been done to homes alone. But Tully Lehman, insurance industry spokesperson for the Insurance Information Network of California, said it’s too soon to predict total loss.
“At this point in time, most people are trying to figure out how many homes have been destroyed and have no idea how big [the disaster] is.”
For any residents with questions about their policy, they can call the Department of Insurance hotline at 800-927-HELP (4357), provided by the Insurance Journal.
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