According to Cal Fire, there have been 274 wildfires since the first of the year. They have caused 28 fatalities (pending coroner confirmation), destroyed 16,188 structures, and burned over 55,000 acres. According to JP Morgan, the estimated damage stands at $50 billion.
AccuWeather cites that “the total damage and economic loss” of the catastrophe could be between $250 and $275B.
The recent Los Angeles wildfires have highlighted the growing challenges faced by everyone involved. As wildfires increase in frequency and intensity, everyone involved is grappling with rising claims costs, shifting risk appetites and the need to balance affordability with financial sustainability.
The cost of rebuilding has increased, too, largely due to the increased costs of materials and labor.
Following Los Angeles’s horrific fires, the following is a playbook for people to rebuild their homes and lives.
The Five Steps to Recovery
Here are five tips to get you to the front of the line when you have lost your home due to a fire. They can save time, up to a year, in getting you back to living your life.
- FILE A CLAIM – IMMEDIATELY, as soon as you know you’ve lost your home. File a claim NOW. In this process, it’s far better to be first in line rather than #1,000. Be certain to obtain the insurance company’s claim number for your policy and record it once you file your claim. You’ll be assigned to an adjuster. You need to speak with them ASAP. Review your coverage in that conversation.
- CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS ADJUSTER – Do it NOW. As soon as you know you’ve lost your home.
- CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL LIVING EXPENSE COVERAGE – Additional Living Expense coverage will provide the funds for you to rent a place to live during the rebuilding process. Ask and confirm this in writing, being certain to document the details and comply with them.
- INTERVIEW ARCHITECTS – Interview and select an architect as soon as possible to work with your claims adjuster. The sooner you have a rebuilding plan, the faster you can move forward.
- GET BUILDERS TO BID ON YOUR PLAN TO REBUILD – Know that it will take them time to do their job. The process of getting permits from the government for each stage takes time. Another reason to be #1, not #1,000 in line.
Being at the front of the line can save as much as a year on the rebuild and get you back to living your life sooner rather than later.
How will the California Fire Impact the Industry?
Many people ask how the fires will impact the home insurance industry. It’s truly a horrific situation. Mitigation of risks in your area, if you are in an area prone to natural disasters, is the best way to cope with the rates. To reduce your rates, you may want to consider higher deductibles.
Is there a Solution?
In California, spreading the risk is the key solution—it’s why WOWS Insurance Services was created.
With WOWS Insurance LLC, each company will hold a portfolio of California homes, diversified by location. This allows us to make a really unique offering that lowers the risk to the reinsurers. So premium charges can be reduced over time. Properties will be grouped together so the homes in each cell have similar fire scores and values.
WOWS has identified over 293 different areas in California alone within its risk profile, with no more than one home from each area in each portfolio.
We’ve been able to show that, from an actuarial standpoint, even if it’s the highest of high fire scores, the spread of risk is significantly more important than the fire scores themselves.
WOWS Insurance Services’ plan is to expand beyond California to eight western states, highlighting those states like Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Colorado that all face similar wildfire risk. Their insurance markets are three to five years behind the California market.
Currently, WOWS has expanded to lead the charge to bring additional insurance carriers back into California.
Importantly, the WOWS program is fully transferable from home sellers to buyers, something that numerous realtors believe makes the policy an asset of the property. This is an industry first and major California realtors have said that being in the program could boost a property’s value.
WOWS will stabilize the market because when you make the policy fully transferable from sellers to buyers you’re taking the fluctuation out of the market. Right now, there are two problems. Consumers are not sure if they are going to get a renewal, and they don’t know if the premium is going to double or triple overnight. WOWS solves both of these problems.
Learn more about WOWS Insurance Services at https://wowsinsurance.com/.
