Disaster recovery group says “Be patient when dealing with insurance companies”

Experts in the field of disaster recovery advise victims that insurance companies are not your friend and will go to great lengths to short change you when it comes to paying for disaster damages. That is the advice given by former San Bernardino resident Lila Hayes Zubik whose mother’s Del Rosa home was burnt to the ground by the 2003 Old Fire.

After her mother, Charlotte Crandall was getting pressured by insurance company lawyers and eventually signed substandard settlement forms, Zubik joined others whose families faced similar disasters to form the Old Fire Recovery Group of San Bernardino Valley. The nonprofit group of about 300 met weekly for two years, hosting speakers from FEMA, insurance advocates, city, county, state officials and tax specialists. “No one realizes the amount of paperwork and the agencies you must deal with after your home burns down,” said Zubik.

Since her mother’s home was in the city limits of San Bernardino, she had to meet with the city planning department. Then there was code enforcement, inspectors, insurance adjusters, contractors, subcontractors, assessors, and designers. She learned that most members of the general public are no match against savvy insurance adjusters. Zubik recalled, “I spent a year learning the process of what to do after your home burns down.”

Zubik was living in San Diego at the time of the Old Fire. On that same date of Oct. 25, 2003, the Cedar Fire of San Diego ignited as well. Those two fires rank at the top of the all-time California disaster list. The Cedar Fire destroyed 2,820 structures and the Old Fire engulfed 975. Zubik currently volunteers with San Diego-based Community Assisting Recovery” along with many other volunteers who have recovered from major fire loss.

By 2007, they were better prepared to help those recover from the Witch and Harris Fires that combined to destroy well over 2,000 homes in San Diego County. Still, the U.S. Fire Administration recommends your insurance agent as your main contact. It tells victims to contact your agent immediately and keep close contact.

Zubik said her mother eventually had to hire an attorney due to the overwhelming mounds of paperwork and red tape. “By then, we at least knew what questions to ask. The man across the street had the same insurance policy but he was pressured to settle early and received about one half compared to my mom, who lived in a RV on her property until her home was rebuilt three and half years later.”

In a phone interview, Zubik pointed out that nearly everyone is under insured and ill prepared. “It’s important to start a diary immediately. Try to inventory all your losses. Document all correspondence with your insurance company. Take pictures of your house during the rebuilding.” Zubik told of a free Disaster Recovery Guide book that Community Assisting Recovery offers. She tells of other important elements when determining your home value. Some are based on property tax and others based on sales value. Zubik calls those values a distraction. “Actually, after a fire the value you’ll need to concentrate on is the replacement cost. Get a copy of your insurance policy and start getting familiar with it.”

If predictions from experts are true, now is the time to read your home owners insurance. UCR fire ecologist Richard Minnick has gone on record to warn of a pending fire that could affect an area spanning south of Big Bear, into Redlands, Oak Glen, the Yucaipa Ridge into Idlewild. His prediction is based on chaparral that hasn’t burned in one hundred years.

Zubik talked about the emotional effects that can hamper the thought process, thereby making disaster victims vulnerable to scam artists. She told of one neighbor, a contractor who convinced many in Del Rosa to pay him money up front for building materials. “He collected a good sum and left the state,” recalled Zubik.

Likewise, representatives from insurance companies say they lose close to $30 billion annually to fraud which gets passed on bill-paying consumers. As California’s largest consumer protection agency, its department of insurance collects $288 billion in premiums annually and helps to recover $84 billion in claims and premiums. The California Department of Insurance serves as a clearinghouse for insurance-related questions or problems. It also investigates and prosecutes.

Zubik, a 1987 graduate of San Bernardino High School said the disaster recovery groups were started in 1994 by George Kehrer, who was one of 3,500 who lost his home in the 1991 fire in the hills outside of Oakland. Zubik says Kehrer has counseled as many as four disasters simultaneously. “He does it without pay because he knows what its like.” Zubik said she was initially paid a part time wage and then full time for two years. She has worked the last 11 years without pay at Community Assisting Recovery. They no longer have an office; instead prefer to be contacted through its website.

Community Assisting Recovery does conduct a well-organized support and donor campaign whereby it solicits cash, cars, boats, or motorcycles. It has produced no significant income since 2012 when it grossed $50,000. Its primary source of income was from donations given for its Disaster Recovery Workbook Series. It adheres to a strict conflict of interest code and says it will not accept gifts from insurance carriers, lawyers, contractors, or anyone who would benefit financially from their services. Zubik said when the need arises they apply for grants from the San Diego Foundation.