By Burt Ross, Colunmist
As one who lost his home in the Woolsey Fire, I became far more familiar with my homeowner’s policy than I ever wanted to. I do not hold myself out in any way as an expert, but I learned a few lessons which might prove helpful to some readers.
For those of you who have recently lost your homes, please accept my condolences. I wish you strength and patience as you navigate the very difficult road ahead.
If you haven’t done so already, when you are able, you might want to check your policy to see if, in addition to insurance for your dwelling, possessions, landscaping, loss of use, etc., you also have coverage for “other structures” and coverage for “code or ordinance upgrade.” We were lucky enough to have both. I realize that the policy I collected on after Woolsey was written over six years ago, and that many policies today might not include this coverage. (I am also painfully aware that sadly, in the world of insurance today, you are fortunate if you have insurance at all.)
“Other structures” coverage may include almost everything not attached to your house. For instance, gates, fences, detached garages, driveways, retaining walls, pools, and patios are just a few of the items which may be considered “other structures.” Having separate coverage for these items allows you to apply all of your “dwelling” coverage to rebuilding your house.
“Code or ordinance upgrade” coverage refers to changes in the various codes which were passed since your house was first built and the increased costs necessitated by conforming to these codes when rebuilding.
For instance, our original home was built in the mid-1980s. Between then and when we rebuilt our house, a building code was passed requiring homes to be built to minimize the impact of earthquakes. That meant we needed to build our home with steel supports, which was obviously an additional cost. There are few areas of construction which haven’t had new codes passed in the past 20 or 30 years. The increased cost of conforming to these code upgrades may be covered by your insurance as an extra benefit.
As for those of you fortunate enough to still have your home, I learned an important lesson shortly after I bought my house. Somebody strongly suggested that I hire a professional photographer to take detailed photos and videos of my home, its contents, other structures, and the yard. I wish I remembered who suggested that I do this, because I owe that person a tremendous debt of gratitude.
We followed this person’s advice and hired a woman who specializes in creating a visual record of your home, its contents, other structures, landscaping, etc. She spent several hours doing a thorough and detailed job, and then gave me a couple of thumb drives containing these records. I immediately put one of the thumb drives in a bank’s safe deposit box. If you don’t have such a box, you can give a thumb drive to a friend or relative who doesn’t live nearby, or put the contents online and share the link with your loved ones. If your house burns, you certainly don’t want the thumb drive burning with it.
After Woolsey, even before we were allowed back in Malibu after the fire, we went to our safe deposit box (over the hill) and retrieved the thumb drive, which I gave to our insurance adjuster. He made it clear that very few people document their homes this way, and it made all the difference. We did not need further proof of what we had lost. We were able to get money from the insurance company quickly and without a lot of argument.
Even if you take photos and videos, you might also want to digitize your receipts for significant items like furniture, and for major work done to your home, so you can retrieve these receipts if your house is damaged or destroyed. The more proof you have, the better your chances are of having your insurance company cover your losses.
I hope some of these tips provide at least a little help, whether you are now coping with devastating loss, or trying to prepare for the possibility of future events we all pray never happen.
If you hope to rebuild, please hang in there. The process of rebuilding is arduous and emotionally draining.
Take good care of yourself.