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Logistics

Immediate Actions

  1. Determine if your home has been destroyed or damaged by looking up your address at https://recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire/
  2. Replace lost critical documents
    • Birth Certificates and Death Certificates:
      • Contact the California Department of Public Health at www.cdph.ca.gov or 916-445-2684.
      • Birth certificate: $25 fee. Death certificate: $21 fee.
      • Los Angeles County residents directly impacted by fires can request property and vital records (i.e., birth, death, marriage) free of charge to help with recovery efforts. If you have been impacted, please call 800-201-8999 and select Option 1, followed by Option 2, or email recorder@rrcc.lacounty.gov for assistance.
    • California Driver License:
    • EBT (CalFresh) Card:
      • Call 877-328-9677 right away or contact your local county social services worker.
    • Green cards:
    • Medicare cards:
    • Military records:
    • Passport:
    • Social Security Card:
      • Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778
      • Website: www.ssa.gov
    • U.S. Savings Bonds:
    • U.S. tax returns:
    • Credit cards:
  3. Get a PO BOX at the post office closest to where you’re staying, or between your temp spot and Altadena. Here you can have items shipped, and switch your credit cards and bills to use this new address so you don’t miss anything that could hurt you in the future.
    1. Apply online: Find, reserve, and pay for a box at a Post Office near you.
    2. Pick up your keys in person: Take your completed application and 2 forms of ID to the Post Office (where your box is) to get your keys.
      1. ❓What do we do if we don’t have 2 forms of ID?
    3. Get mail at your convenience: Flexible hours allow you to check your PO Box on your schedule.
  4. Start a Google Drive or Dropbox for digital files and documents, and/or keep a portable file box for any physical paperwork and receipts you receive.
  5. Speak with your insurance company to start a claim. Obtain a complete copy of your residential homeowner's insurance policy, including your declarations page. The law requires your insurance company to provide this to you free of charge within 30 days of your request. Ask your agent or insurer representative to explain how much coverage you have (1) to rebuild or repair your home, (2) for your personal belongings, and (3) for living expenses. This should include an explanation of Extended Replacement Cost and Building Code Upgrade coverages if applicable. Ask how to most effectively claim your coverage benefits.
    1. Have your adjuster cut you a check within 48 hours for the necessities you need to purchase (clothing, etc.) SAVE EVERY RECEIPT
    2. Take note of your Additional Living Expense (ALE) limits and manage your ALE expenses in recognition of a long rebuilding process. Your time to collect ALE after a declared catastrophe is no less than 24 months even if your policy says otherwise; however your amount of coverage is not increased. An extension of up to 12 additional months, for a total of 36 months, should be granted if you encounter delays beyond your reasonable control.
    3. If your home is in a trust, make sure your trust is listed as “additional insured”.
    4. The Department of Insurance urges consumers to begin the claims process by contacting their insurance company or agent. The Department strongly suggests people take their time when considering a contract for public adjuster. If a policyholder is considering hiring a public adjuster, the Department also urges consumers to check the public adjuster's license and make sure they are properly licensed and in good standing. — https://cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov/cal/
    5. Typically your insurance policy will have three main categories: Relocation coverage, content coverage and structural coverage. Check your insurance policy for how much relocation coverage you have. Chances are you could have anywhere from 25k to unlimited coverage (most policies have a max, I changed ours to unlimited after our fire). This is extremely important because you will need to pay your mortgage while paying to live somewhere else while you rebuild. If you have a max amount for coverage, you will need to factor that into your budget when finding a new place to live. If your policy is older, this may be an issue since rental rates increase at lightning speeds in CA. —

      6. Reddit

    6. AAA (Auto Club Insurance) - 1-800-222-4357
    7. Allstate - 1-800-255-7828
    8. Amica Mutual Insurance - 1-800-242-6422
    9. Chubb Insurance - 1-866-324-8222
    10. Farmers Insurance Group - 1-888-327-6335
    11. GEICO - 1-800-841-3000
    12. Hartford (The Hartford) - 1-800-624-5578
    13. Liberty Mutual - 1-800-225-2467
    14. Mercury Insurance - 1-800-503-3724
    15. Nationwide - 1-800-421-3535
    16. Pacific Specialty Insurance - 1-800-303-5000
    17. Progressive - 1-800-776-4737
    18. State Farm Insurance - 1-800-782-8332
    19. Travelers Insurance - 1-800-252-4633
    20. USAA (for military families) - 1-800-531-8722
    21. Wawanesa Insurance - 1-877-929-2637
  6. Call your mortgage company and have them remove property taxes from your escrow/impound account, as per https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE04xboyO_u/
  7. Document all of your conversations with your insurer/adjuster about your claim and policy limitations in a dedicated "claim diary." If your adjuster says something is excluded, limited, or subject to certain conditions, ask the adjuster to point out the specific provision in your policy being cited.
    1. Here’s how you can record and transcribe a conversation on an iPhone. Get permission to record, and then you can save Notes in a shared folder with your family that you can all reference.
    2. Call the Department of Insurance Hotline for help at (800) 927-4357. You can also file a complaint. Consider insights from consumer advocates.
  8. Home inventory tips here
    1. Examples of home inventory spreadsheet, content claim template, and things to buy list: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1zInmhVnwnYzbZGYTa1QI6SY5XAgk8rxn . ❗Let’s pull these out into blank templates that can be duplicated by residents
    2. Tips for formatting your home inventory to maximize claims from Redditor here: sillysandhouse Can’t sleep. Our house is gone. Feeling so sad for our babysillysandhouse Can’t sleep. Our house is gone. Feeling so sad for our baby
    3. Info on “large loss contents adjusting” process in comments here — Reddit
  9. Track all of your additional expenses that arise from having to live in another location away from your home. SAVE EVERY RECEIPT in your digital and/or physical files.
    1. Note: your ALE reimbursement may be offset by your normal cost of living before the fire (i.e., ALE does not pay for your mortgage or expenses you would normally incur) but you are entitled to the same standard of living you had before the fire. ALE will pay for temporary rent, additional mileage, etc.
    2. ❗YNAB is an easy way to track and categorize expenses straight from a bank account and export CSVs, but it does cost money. Maybe we can negotiate discounts on behalf of those affected?
  10. Get at least one licensed contractor's estimate or bid on the cost to rebuild your home just to get a reasonable sense of the actual cost as compared to your coverage limits (for more considerations on contractors, view the CDI's electronic brochure Don't Get Scammed After a Disaster and check the California's Contractors State License Board website.) While your insurance company may provide its own estimate, it may contain errors or fail to reflect local conditions or demand surge. Demand surge reflects price increases following a major disaster when contractors and materials are in short supply.
  11. After filing an insurance claim, THEN apply for FEMA aid by calling 1-800-621-3362 or visiting https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
    • FEMA disaster assistance is intended to meet the basic needs of your household for uninsured or underinsured necessary expenses and serious needs to jumpstart your recovery. If you have insurance and are applying for FEMA disaster assistance, you must file a claim with your insurance company first. By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits for losses covered by insurance. If insurance does not cover all your damage, you may be eligible for federal assistance. (FEMA press release)
    • Board of Supervisors District 5: For those who have applied online for FEMA reimbursement and are getting denied, the Board of Supervisors is in contact with them who advise: if you identify you have insurance, you will get denied. This is a glitch which is actively being fixed. FEMA advises to reapply because “you are not being denied.” The Board of Supervisors are actively working on a strategy to rebuild. — Community meeting Jan 10, as per Watch Duty app
    • ❓TBD: Will GoFundMes restrict amount of FEMA aid you can get?

Recommended Actions within First Year

  • You may be eligible for tax relief if your property is damaged or destroyed by a calamity, such as fire or flooding. To qualify, you must file an Application for Reassessment: Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Calamity (M&C) Form ADS-820 with the Assessor’s Office within 12 months from the date the property was damaged or destroyed. The loss must exceed $10,000 of current market value. Relief for Properties Impacted By A Disaster
  • Another tip: Most, if not all insurance policies have time limits on when you can collect RCBs (Replacement Cost Benefits i.e: Depreciation). At my company, it's 2 years. DO NOT WAIT until the last minute to submit your Personal Property receipts for reimbursement. —

    • Reddit

Restoration

  • BE VERY SKEPTICAL of “mold remediation” companies or restoration companies. They can be predatory. They get the fire reports, know who you are and if you have insurance. The day after our fire, one of the biggest companies contacted us and said our insurance sent them (they lied). They prey on your emotional state and make false claims that they can “restore” anything you may have left. THIS USES A BIG PART OF YOUR CONTENT COVERAGE! They literally charged us $5 for each pair of socks they washed, $500 to wash a comforter, etc. SPOILER…..they cannot get the smell out so unless it’s something you really cherish, it’s not worth it. They will use your entire policy coverage if you let them. If you have something you think you can save, find a good dry cleaner on your own. Trust me!

    • Reddit 1

    Reddit 2

Rebuilding

  • Assess your situation, do not rush into any decision about contractors, lawyers or public adjusters - consider your mortgage/employment/financial situation, your age, children's schools, your willingness to deal with construction issues (no matter who your contractor is). The insurance process is a series of important decisions over a long period of time, but few, if any, need to be made today. Of course, move forward if you have obtained multiple bids from reputable licensed contractors, are certain you want to rebuild, are sure of the rebuilding costs and your insurance limits and want to be sure you are a priority for your selected contractor to start the rebuild. The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) has publications that can help you identify and avoid problems before they occur. Contact CSLB at 1-800-321-2752 to obtain a free copy of their publications and/or verify the licensing status of a contractor.
  • We maxed out every part of our policy after rebuilding. Make sure you call your mortgage company because their name will be included on the insurance checks (as you rebuild, not for relocation or your contents).

    • Reddit 1

  • Understand you can purchase or rebuild at another location, and still receive full replacement cost benefits including Building Code Upgrade and Extended Replacement Cost benefits if those were included on your policy and necessary to rebuild the insured dwelling. You also have the right to rebuild using the contractor of your choosing. In order to reduce the cost of rebuilding, you might also consider a community-wide development approach utilizing a common builder.
    • ❓How can we help connect the community to find a shared builder? Altadena Ecovillage of passive homes?
  • Evaluate whether you will need a public adjuster or attorney to help you with your claim. If rebuilding will take a long time you are likely to use your entire ALE limits. If you are also reimbursed by your insurer for your entire personal property loss or your full personal property limits, you may not need a public adjuster or attorney to help you obtain full settlements for either of these coverages. Public adjusters typically require a percentage of the claim settlement for their services. Make sure you understand what they charge and the services you are paying for before you sign a public adjuster contract. Some public adjusters may insist on a contract that includes payment to the public adjuster based upon the entire amount paid to the policyholder by the insurer, including amounts paid to the policyholder before the public adjuster contract was signed. A public adjuster should not charge a fee on payments you received from your insurer before the public adjuster contract was signed. A fee should only be charged on additional monies the public adjuster gets for you. Contact the Department if this issue arises in your contract.
  • In a declared-disaster, you may cancel the contract within five calendar days. Public adjusters are required to be licensed by the California Department of Insurance. To verify a public adjuster's license, call us at 1-800-927-4357 or check the status online on the License Status Inquiry application. Practicing without a license is against the law. Public adjusters may not solicit business in a declared-disaster area until 7 calendar days have passed from the end of a loss-producing event such as a fire.