Altadena couple whose home burnt down among thousands dropped by insurance before wildfires
this Eaton Fire The disaster struck Altadena, California, turning the home of Jeff and Jennifer Cohen into a shell.
“I think some of the walls were up and the second floor seemed to have collapsed onto the first floor, but I couldn’t tell you if anything was salvageable,” Jeff said.
Raising the money to rebuild takes time. The couple had found temporary housing, but last September they received notice from their long-term insurance company that their home policy would not be renewed. They are among more than 100,000 Los Angeles homeowners. Insurance has been canceled before the recent wildfires.
When asked if they gave a reason, Jeff said: “It’s a fire hazard. It’s a fire hazard, you know? We’re in an area where they can’t offer insurance anymore.”
As victims like the Cohens face devastating losses, analysts predict insurance companies may pay This latest wildfire disaster alone caused more than $20 billion in damage, according to JPMorgan Chase.
“The risk changes very quickly,” said Frances Moore, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco. climate change economics. “With any healthy risk management, we want insurance companies to understand exactly what the risks are.”
Nationwide, the insurance industry is already facing tens of billions of dollars in natural disaster losses.
One approach to financial planning for these disasters could include computer-generated disaster models, said Rob Newbold of risk assessment firm Verisk.
“Climate conditions (temperature and weather), and the location of properties and infrastructure, such as fire suppression, the prevalence of local fire stations, the prevalence of local fire breaks — how do all of these come about?” Newbold said. Together we will model what might happen at the event over the next year. “
Verisk already provides models covering everything from wildfires to tornadoes and hurricanes to insurance companies across the country.
“Beverly Hills and its surrounding areas are seeing a darker shade of red. This indicates there is a greater potential for loss based on where the fire started, how quickly it spread, how intense the fire was, and the exposure values in that zip code. Insurance companies can look at that potential loss,” and have sufficient funds to pay claims,” Verisk said.
Under an old law that protects consumers, California regulators barred the use of such models to help set rates, but the state Lift the ban. Verisk was the first company to submit the model for approval.
The Cohens eventually found insurance, but only through a government-funded pool, at a much higher cost than they had previously paid. Even that pool may not have enough funds to pay anticipated claims for fire damage in Los Angeles.
The couple, unsure whether they will rebuild their home in California, are in limbo after a fire razed their home of 23 years.
