Once you have contacted your insurance company to file a claim, the claim will be sent to one of its insurance adjusters to start working with you. In the catastrophe (CAT) situation like the Los Angeles wildfires, insurance companies will bring in adjusters from other parts of the country or other departments within their company to try to meet needs.

Expect delays in getting in direct contact with the adjuster and make sure that they have easy ways to contact you via email, text, or phone as they deal with an overwhelming amount of claims.

• Once you have filed the claim, it would be typical in a CAT situation for an adjuster to reach out with an immediate amount of money they can pay to try to get you a place to live. This is not a settlement amount; it will be part of your Coverage D (loss of use) amount. The adjuster may also put the amount under Coverage C, as you could use it to replace some of the clothes that were lost in the fire. Keep track of what you are purchasing, as the insurance company will need to know what you have replaced and find agreement on the type of living arrangements and the cost involved.
• Once you are situated with a place to live and have been able to purchase some of the basics to live, the adjuster is expected to ask how you plan to proceed. Here is a sample question: Do you plan on rebuilding or leaving the area and taking a cash settlement?
• If you choose not to rebuild your home, your insurance claim will be adjusted on an ACV basis, not replacement cost. The same goes for contents. As an example: If you used to play golf and your Ping clubs burnt in the fire and they were a $1,000 set of clubs, the insurance company will pay you an ACV value for those clubs until you repurchase them, and at that time they will cover the rest of the cost for the new clubs. If you never replace the clubs, you will only ever receive their ACV. Keep this in mind as you determine what you do and don’t want to replace out of your loss.
• In the case of your home, the replacement cost may be $1 million. But, if you decide to not rebuild, the ACV value might only be $500,000 and that would be the settled value that you receive.
• Many people also lost their car in the wildfire. Make sure to turn in a separate claim with your auto insurer. If your home and auto insurance are with the same company, your adjuster needs to know that you are filing for both losses. Some companies will handle the home and auto under one claim, while other companies will handle them separately as they have separate departments for home and auto.
• In many cases, people will have rental car coverage if their automobile was in an accident covered by insurance. Rental cars may be difficult to secure, so make sure to plan accordingly as you may be in a long wait to receive one. If you do receive a rental vehicle, ask about the loss damage waiver and whether your insurance policy covers that for a rental. Oftentimes, loss damage is not covered, and you may want to purchase it while you have the rental car. The rental car contract you sign has terms in it not covered by a personal auto policy, and you don’t need additional complications if something were to happen to the rental car while you have it.
• If the adjuster is ready to send money, ensure that they can send it directly to an account or they have the correct mailing address, as you are not able to receive mail at your burnt residence in many cases.
• If you lost a business in the fire, you also have similar coverages to the home and auto policy.
• Many policies will allow for loss of revenue. However, insurance companies will want to receive records showing past revenue, so they can confirm the typical revenue you would be missing monthly.
• Many policies will have coverage for contents or inventory, or tools depending on the type of business. Again, you will need to provide a detailed account of what you lost and the value of the losses. (Typically, in a retail situation, the value is based on what you paid for the item, not the sales price.) If your business is an art studio, it would be based on the actual piece of art and its current value at the time of loss.
• A fine art policy will have a different basis of valuation depending on if you are a collector, dealer, or artist. Make a list of the works that have been damaged and destroyed and estimate the purchase price, selling price, or retail replacement value. Work with your broker to submit the claim to ensure that you are accurately accounting for the value.
• If you’re an artist, even if you do not have a fine art policy, talk to your dealer about works that were being created or stored for an upcoming exhibition or commission. There may be coverage available from their Business Owners or Fine Art policy.
• Buildings are also insured like homes. Policies will have coinsurance clauses, so make sure that you know about them and how they might affect your settlement. Your insurance agent can walk you through that part of your policy.
• As you navigate the first part of your claim (regardless of the type of claim), stay in contact with your adjuster. Understand that they are there to ensure the insurance company is not being exploited and to get you back to as whole as the language in your policy will allow.
• Read your whole policy front to back and ask questions of your agent/broker.

• Don’t jump at an early settlement that doesn’t seem to make sense or get you back into the place you were before the fire.
• Don’t feel pressured into any decision by your insurance company. Understand the documents that the insurance company is sending you and requesting of you. If documentation becomes too confusing or the insurance company does not seem to be willing to make things right, you may need to seek outside legal counsel. There are many people in the legal field willing to help, especially during this terrible time.
• Don’t use a contractor or vendor who is not approved by your insurance company and doesn’t have their own workers’ compensation or general liability insurance.