Most southern California homeowners affected by the Palisades Fire have insurance which will cover damage to your house, rebuilding a house, temporary housing, smoke and ash damage, personal property, and landscaping.
Of course, this is assuming your policy covers the current costs of rebuilding and personal properly and you’re not underinsured.
Most homeowner insurance policies cover fire damage, while Californians in high risk areas may have the FAIR Plan.
Vehicles with car insurance should be covered by their auto insurance if they have an adequate policy such as comprehensive coverage.
In the event an insurer goes bankrupt, the State will likely end up paying for damages.
What happens after the devastating Palisades Fire remains yet to be seen. We’ve prepared a page about disaster recovery and litigation for this fire, just in case. Hopefully nobody needs us, but we’re seen insurers deny fire damage claims, deny smoke, soot and ash claims, lowball insurance offers, and delay claims unnecessarily.
After the 2018 Camp Fire, at least one insurer was unable to pay claims. Others are fighting for money 3 years later.
It’s also possible a utilities provider could be liable for some of the damages, but this remains yet to be determined for this fire. In the Camp Fire, officials determined PG&E’s transmission lines caused the fire.
Please stay safe, and tune in to CalFire for current emergency incidents here: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents.
