I think a lot of people in CA actually learned a lesson from Katrina: you take care of it, or it isn't getting taken care of. There are a lot of people who actually WILL learn if you bash them in the face a few times. Also, arrangements have been made for pets in this disaster, far more than has ever been made elsewhere, IIRC. The DelMar racetrack and a shopping mall is accepting horses. Some shelters are accepting dogs and cats.


Also, doesn't declaring a Federal Disaster Area just provide low-interest LOANS for repair and reconstruction to the affected areas? I have never understood it to be just free money.

I've been out of the insurance buriness for quite a while, but here is my memory of how property insurance and losses work:

Your property can be insured for the A) initial cost of the house or manufactured home (MH); B) the current value of the home (Replacement Cost); or C) future replacement cost, the actual cost it would take to replace your house just like it was before the fire (etc).

Of course A is cheaper, but you're really going to be left holding a bag of ashes if you've got it.

B is probably most common, but you would probably find that the actual financial replacement of your house would end up being more than the insurance company says it's worth, or will pay.

C is the most expensive, and a lot of people can't afford it.

Think of property insurance like auto insurance: You get hit, your car is totaled, the ins. co. pays off the remainder of the loan to the bank, and you have to pay for a new car out of your own pocket, and the guy that hit you just gets a rate increase. You're insured, but you still lose.

How many of you actually KNOW what kind of coverage you've got, and exactly what it covers? Maybe you'd better READ your policy and see what you've got... and haven't. Call your agent for explanations.

Insurance is a contract and nothing else. The company will pay what they're forced to pay, and not a penny more. As a friend of mine says, "Insurance companies are in the premium-collecting business, NOT the claim-paying business".

A REMINDER: Any time you have any kind of a claim, and the adjuster says you aren't covered and you've read your policy and think you are (even if there might be a gray area), immediately contact your State Insurance Commissioner (SIC). [Do this before you call an attorney, as they're free and working for you.]

Call and tell the receptionist the very bare bones (no details, she doesn't care), but she will send out a form where you can put every single detail, date, conversation, name of person you spoke to, what they said, etc. (You DID take notes, right?)

The SIC will review your information, then ask the ins. co. what they have to say. The SIC is the Big Gun in your state's insurance. The companies either play nicely with them and the insureds, or they can get booted out of the state, which they absolutely DO NOT want. Insurance companies will sneer at attorneys, but fear the SIC.

If you were anywhere near being right, your insurance company will likely call or write you and be VERY sweet and polite, saying that obviously a mistake was made and they will fix it, and (as in my sister's medical case) all you have to pay is $22.61.

SIC first, attorney later.

Sue