STINKY MYSTERY » RP man suspected READY TO PLAY BALL » Giants, A’s set

of illegally dumping raw sewage. A3 to kick off MLB season this week. C1

SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM

Outraged youths ‘done hiding’

MARCH FOR OUR LIVES » In
US and abroad, crowds take to
streets in call for gun control
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — Standing before
vast crowds from Washington to Los An-
geles to Parkland, Florida, the speakers
— nearly all of them students, some still
in elementary school — delivered an an-
guished and defiant message: They are
“done hiding” from gun violence, and
will “stop at nothing” to get politicians to
finally prevent it.
The students, as they seized the nation’s
attention Saturday with raised fists and
tear-streaked faces, vowed that their grief
about school shootings and their frustra-
tion with adults’ inaction would power a
new generation of political activism.
“If they continue to ignore us, to only
pretend to listen, then we will take ac-
tion where it counts,” Delaney Tarr, a
student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School in Parkland, where a gun-
man killed 17 people last month, told tens
of thousands rallying in Washington.
“We will take action
INSIDE every day in every
Spirited crowd packs way until they sim-
SR’s Old Courthouse ply cannot ignore us
Square for rally / A3 anymore.”
For many of the
young people, the Washington rally,
called March for Our Lives, was their
first act of protest and the beginning of a
political awakening. But that awakening
may be a rude one — lawmakers in
Congress have largely disregarded
their pleas for action on television and
social media in the five weeks since the JOSE LUIS MAGANA / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters fill Pennsylvania Avenue, visible from the Newseum, during the March for Our
TURN TO MARCH » PAGE A12 Lives rally Saturday in support of gun control in Washington, D.C.

WILDFIRE RECOVERY » Many homeowners hoping to rebuild

scrambling over coverage shortfalls with complex consequences

John Bolton
Painful insurance reality
Trump’s
advisers
primed
for clash
ANALYSIS » New team,
including Bolton, wants
global leaders to blink first
By DAVID E. SANGER
AND GARDINER HARRIS
NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — The incom-

ing national security adviser
has called for the “swift take-
over” of North Korea by the
South. He and the newly nom-
inated secretary of state have
urged withdrawal from the 2015
nuclear deal with Iran. The pick
for CIA director once oversaw
harsh interrogations of terror-
ism suspects that her critics
claim were plainly torture.
And the two generals cel-
ebrated by President Donald
Trump for their reputations for
toughness are now considered
the moderates — and at risk of
falling out of his favor.
PHOTOS BY ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Not since the immediate af-
termath of Sept. 11, 2001, have NEW HOME AFTER FIRES: Cody Nix, 6, reads his homework aloud to his mother, Sharlene, on Wednesday at their home in Santa Rosa. The Nixes discovered that they
key national security leaders were underinsured when they filed a claim to rebuild their Larkfield-area home, which was destroyed by the Tubbs fire in October.
so publicly raised the threat of
military confrontation if for-
eign adversaries do not meet the
By BILL SWINDELL
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Insurers ease
J inventory
United States’ demands.
But George W. Bush’s war osh Nix thought he was
Cabinet was responding to the doing everything right in
biggest direct attack on the Unit-
ed States since Pearl Harbor.
The current moment of peril
August when he renewed
the insurance policy for his
Mark West area home just east
requirements
arises from Trump’s conviction of Luther Burbank Center for By BILL SWINDELL
that the United States is being the Arts. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

pushed around by adversaries
who need to understand that
“America First” means they
have a brief window to negotiate
a deal, or force may follow.
Now, the members of Trump’s
newly constituted team are
about to face multiple, simulta-
neous tests of their past procla-
mations and sometimes conflict-
ing instincts. North Korea and
Iran pose the most immediate
challenge, with Trump setting
Nix answered the questions
posed by his carrier, USAA,
in an online form used to
determine the proper amount
of coverage for his three-bed-
room, three-bathroom house on
Willowgreen Place. The home,
which he bought in 2013 for
$554,000, was valued at around
$800,000, but the digital calcula-
tor showed that he needed only
$293,000 for structure coverage.
Nix decided to round it up,
K
itty Loberg said she could
only devote minimal
blocks of time to remem-
ber all the personal items she
lost when the October wildfires
destroyed her Redwood Valley
home.
SHOOTING HOOPS: Joshua Nix watches his son, Cody, shoot a basket outside “When your body is still in a
the family’s new home in Santa Rosa. shocked state in trying to deal
with the reality (of rebuilding)
cover me on a total loss.” and everything with that ... It
He would soon find out the hurts,” said Loberg. “Your mind

Rebuild
H
2018 • SECTION
MARCH 25,
SUNDAY,

negotiation deadlines that are
only months away.
Over the longer term, they
must straighten out the strate-
gic incoherence surrounding
Trump’s approach to Russia and
China, defining the meaning of
the administration’s policy dec-
laration earlier this year that
“great power competition — not
terrorism — is now the primary
TURN TO CLASH » PAGE A2
purchasing a $300,000 policy
that would go into effect on
Oct. 3.
“I answered the questions
honestly,” said Nix, a 38-year-
old husband with two young
children. With eight years of
active duty service in the U.S.
Coast Guard, Nix chose USAA
because it catered to service
personnel. “I believed it was a
product that would sufficiently
painful truth: His insurance
policy would not replace the
home he lost. Rebuilding
his home would cost around
$325,000 more than his insur-
ance policy covered — and
that doesn’t even include the
cost of paying off the $425,000
mortgage Nix still owed on his
gutted home.
TURN TO INSURANCE » PAGE A14
starts screaming at you and says,
AY ‘No, I just don’t want to do this.’”
NORTH B Here and there, Loberg
would compile a list of items
lost inside her house, barn and
shed on her 1-acre property in
Mendocino County.
And then she caught a break.
SPECIAL SECTION: Her insurer, CSAA Insurance
Rebuild North Bay looks Group, stopped asking for a
at the progress of the
fire recovery effort / H1 TURN TO INVENTORY » PAGE A14

Business E1 Crossword T6 Lotto A2 Obituaries B4 TOUGH TIMES FOR DAIRIES: Farmers across SANTA ROSA ©2018
Classified E5 Forum B11 Movies D6 Smith A3 North Bay who’ve shifted to certified organic High 59, Low 35 The Press
Democrat
Community B10 LeBaron T1 Nevius C1 TV T7 operations struggling as milk prices sink / E1 THE WEATHER, C8
A14 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018

“Most people will find themselves underinsured. Those are some breathtaking numbers.”
AMY BACH, executive director of United Policyholders, a San Francisco-based consumer group

INSURANCE
CONTINUED FROM A1
Nix is not alone. The
firestorm, which destroyed more
than 5,500 homes in the North
Bay, revealed one of the stark
realities of insurance: many
homeowners don’t have enough
coverage to replace their homes
following a disaster.
Consumers are blaming
insurance companies, saying
they were misled to believe they
had adequate coverage. Insur-
ance companies contend that
consumers are responsible for
deciding how much insurance
to buy, noting that price is a
driving factor when many home-
owners make their decisions.
Despite the ubiquitous TV
commercials where insurance
companies tout they are “on
your side” and are “like a good
neighbor,” many local residents
feel their insurers are more of
an adversary than an ally.
Almost 70 percent of local fire
victims believe they do not have
enough insurance to replace or
rebuild their homes, according
to a survey by United Policy-
holders, a San Francisco-based
consumer group.
“Nobody is looking out for
your best interest,” Nix tearfully
recounted in an interview. He ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
has decided to sell his lot to a FATHER AND SON TIME: Joshua Nix, left, helps his son, Cody, 6, take in some batting practice after dinner at the family’s home in Santa Rosa. Nix realizes that his family
builder for $265,000 in a deal was fortunate to have to bought another house near Piner High School two days after the Tubbs fire, which burned down their home in the Larkfield area.
scheduled to close on Monday.
“They sold me a half a policy,” difficult to solve than other policyholders have hired public burdensome or takes too long. owners qualify for such cover-
he said of USAA. obstacles to rebuilding. While adjusters, who negotiate with Displaced homeowners have age, and only a small subset of
In a statement, USAA dis- government officials took action insurers for a fee. few options. Some will try to insurers even offer it.
agreed with Nix’s version of to speed up debris removal and “The insurance companies pay for rebuilding by scraping Policymakers became aware
events. streamline permitting, they do are lowballing,” said Eric together claims from other parts of the problem following the
“We disagree with the way not have the same power to force Keith, chief operating officer at of their insurance policy — most 1991 Oakland Hills fire — the
Mr. Nix has described how his insurers to provide more relief. Sonoma County Builders, who notably reimbursement for costliest American wildfire until
coverage was established,” the As of March 12, insurers have is ready to rebuild 10 homes in losses of personal property, such the North Bay blazes broke the
company said in a statement. paid out $4.6 billion in residen- the Fountaingrove area. Four as furniture, appliances and record last year — but many
“We provide our members tial claims in Sonoma County, of those clients are still waiting clothing. Those funds could be homeowners were not aware un-
an estimate of the minimum or two-thirds of the $6.9 billion to hear back from their insur- combined with personal savings til they were personally affected.
amount of coverage they should in insured losses left by the ance adjusters after presenting or a low-interest Small Business “In case after case, California
obtain to rebuild. Members may destruction of 4,821 homes, ac- detailed pricing information on Administration loan to rebuild. residents whose homes had been
choose to insure for an amount cording to the state Department their claims. “I could be starting Others may be forced to band damaged or destroyed explained
greater or less than the estimate of Insurance. on their house if not for that,” together with their neighbors why they had believed their
provided by USAA. We cannot The way insurers review and Keith said of the delay. to negotiate a package deal with homeowners insurance would en-
give additional coverage to those approve fire claims is playing Insurance carriers use software builders and lenders, which can able them to rebuild their dwell-
who chose to purchase less.” an integral role in the speed of programs to calculate the cost lower the price of rebuilding. ings. Once they presented their
Nix and others have been rebuilding. of rebuilding, but they haven’t Then there are those who just claim to their insurance compa-
left scrambling with insurance Contractors will not start a adjusted their models to reflect may simply eat the cost of the ny, though, these homeowners
shortfalls that can range from construction job until they are sharp increases in the cost of gap — if they can afford it. discovered that their coverage fell
as little as tens of thousands of sure there is enough money labor and materials after the All of those individual deci- well short of what they needed
dollars to more than $1 million, to complete the project. Thus, October wildfires, Keith said. As a sions will have a collective effect — sometimes by hundreds of
according to Amy Bach, exec- many are waiting for policyhold- result, they have lower estimates on the local economy. thousands of dollars — to rebuild
utive director of United Policy- ers to negotiate settlements with of what it costs to build a home “That’s the big policy conun- their homes,” the California Su-
holders. The problem is evident their carriers. today in Sonoma County, he said. drum for policymakers in Sono- preme Court stated in a January
in every neighborhood ravaged Many policyholders discover The actual cost of framing ma County,” said Robert Eyler, 2017 decision that provided state
by fire across the North Bay, al- they are underinsured when and roofing is about double the director of the Center for Region- Insurance Commissioner Dave
though the biggest shortfalls are contractors deliver ballpark esti- amount offered by insurance al Economic Analysis at Sonoma Jones more authority to regulate
centered in Fountaingrove and mates on the cost of rebuilding, companies, Keith said. To help State University, who has studied the industry.
other upscale neighborhoods. which can range from as low as some customers negotiate with the cost of rebuilding. “If people It is a lesson that more Cali-
“Most people will find them- $280 per square foot for a group their insurer, Keith has reworked start walking away en masse, fornians are learning on a more
selves underinsured,” Bach said. build in Coffey Park to as high as the carrier-provided estimates to what kind of public policy issue regular basis as wildfires have
“Those are some breathtaking $600 per square foot in Fountain- show the true cost for rebuilding. does that create?” become more destructive in
numbers.” grove, said Keith Woods, chief The end result? Many fire The problem of underin- the Golden State since the turn
The ramifications of the executive officer of the North victims will find themselves surance has been around for of the century, exacerbated by
large gap between insured and Coast Builders Exchange. without sufficient funds and will decades, making it especially drought and increased build-
uninsured losses will be sig- Even those who opt to go end up ultimately selling their frustrating for recent fire vic- ing near forested areas. They
nificant. If homeowners don’t forward can face delays. Fire lots, like Nix. tims. include such costly blazes as the
have enough money to rebuild, victims must get detailed, line- “That’s the easy button right In the past, insurers offered 2003 Cedar and 2007 Witch wild-
financial pressures could force by-line estimates for rebuilding, there,” Keith said of selling policies that guaranteed your fires in San Diego County; the
many to leave the North Bay and which can spark further wran- lots. He envisions more fire home would be rebuilt if it was 2003 Old fire in San Bernardino
delay efforts to rebuild. gling with insurance carriers victims choosing that option if destroyed in a fire. But today,
The problem is proving more and trigger more setbacks. Some the claims process becomes too only a limited number of home- TURN TO INSURANCE » PAGE A15

INVENTORY 10 LARGEST
PROPERTY INSURERS
to pay out at least 80 percent of
personal property claims without
itemization in the aftermath of a
lish the home was fully furnished,
Chubb releases the full written
policy limit on the personal
100 percent payouts for personal
property losses without having
to file any itemization, while oth-
CONTINUED FROM A1 Listed below in alphabetical declared state of emergency. Mc- property coverage to the client,” ers were told to inventory their
Guire’s bill, SB 897, would be ap- Samansky said in an email. specific losses.
detailed list in January. Instead,
order are the 10 largest residential
plied retroactively to July 1. “This One Allstate policyholder As part of its subsequent
it allowed Loberg to submit a
property insurers in Sonoma,
is going to be one hell of a fight,” told The Press Democrat that outreach, CSAA gave out the
summary of her property losses
Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Sola-
McGuire said of advancing his bill he received a 100 percent payout cellphone numbers of its top
from 65 different categories to
no counties. The results are based
against the insurance lobby. two weeks after Jones’ request. claims officials to more than
simplify and speed up the claims
on 2016 premiums earned.
The Press Democrat surveyed The company did not respond to 650 customers so they could
process. ■ Allstate Insurance Group the 10 largest insurance compa- repeated requests for comment. contact them directly if they
CSAA is one of almost 50 in- ■ Chubb Group nies in the North Bay and their Four insurers were paying at had any concerns about their
surers pressured by state Insur- ■ CSAA policyholders to determine how least 75 percent of a fire vic- claims, said spokeswoman Sue
ance Commissioner Dave Jones much money they were receiv- tims’ personal property claim Saito. Loberg said she called one
in December to pay North Bay ■ Farmers Insurance Group ing for personal property claims without an itemized list. State official when she had some prob-
fire victims up to 100 percent of ■ Liberty Insurance Group without itemizing their losses. Farm, The Hartford and USAA lems over payment of debris
their personal property cover- ■ Nationwide Group The 10 insurers cover 89 percent all confirmed they were paying cleanup, which he resolved to
age limits without a detailed of the homes insured in Sonoma claims at that percentage. USAA her satisfaction.
inventory. ■ State Farm Group County, according to the state has been paying that level for The Travelers did not detail
Jones required insurers to ■ The Hartford Insurance Group Department of Insurance. catastrophes since 2011, said the company’s policy on person-
show state regulators how they ■ The Travelers Insurance Group Only one carrier, Farmers In- spokesman Roger Wildermuth. al property payouts.
intended to help fire victims get surance Group, confirmed direct- Nationwide policyholders Some Travelers policyholders
bigger insurance payouts with
■ USAA Group
ly that it is paying out 100 percent told The Press Democrat they said they were especially disap-
less paperwork and stress. He Source: California Department of to its customers without itemiza- received a 75 percent payout, pointed when they discovered
Insurance
publicly listed the names of in- tion. “This one-time decision was though the company did not the company would only pay out
surers that paid out more — and arrived at after taking account of provide any specific percentages 50 percent without itemization
less — than 50 percent of their with their insurance carrier. the unique conditions surround- when contacted. — the lowest rate of the top 10.
coverage limits without docu- “I think the momentum has ing the California wildfires and Many of those customers have Janet Hendrickson wrote to
mentation, enabling fire victims been building on this issue since their aftermath,” said Farmers lobbied their carriers to pay Travelers CEO Alan Schnitzer
to gauge how their company was the last major catastrophe,” spokesman Luis Shagun in a 100 percent of their personal in January to plead her case
treating customers in the wake Bach said. “On this one (issue), I statement. property claims without item- after her home was destroyed in
of the disaster. think this is really strong.” Liberty Mutual/SAFECO ization. Tubbs fire.
Loberg credits such pressure Twenty-two percent of fire would not disclose an overall State Farm spokesman Sevag “Putting together these lists
for helping her ultimately get ev- victims said they received percentage on reimbursement; Sarkissian noted that consumers and then having each item
ery penny out of her policy cov- 100 percent of their personal however, in many cases it paid who want more coverage for per- depreciated is not only time
ering personal property without property claims without being out 100 percent without an sonal property can always buy it consuming but even worse,
listing every single item she lost, required by their carrier to sub- inventory based on in-depth con- from their insurer. The company agonizing leading to feelings of
though she still had to submit mit a complete home inventory, versations between fire victims bases its prices on how much it great despair,” she wrote.
estimates of her losses broken according a survey conducted by and its claims adjusters, said anticipates actually paying in Hendrickson said she was
down into broad categories. United Policyholders. spokesman Glenn Greenberg. personal property claims, not told by a Travelers official that
“I think it was a good thing Under pressure from policy- Likewise, Chubb did not on how much it would cost the the company offered bigger
he did,” she said of Jones. “It holders and Jones, 39 carriers provide an exact percentage, company to automatically pay payouts for personal property
provided some support to help have publicly pledged to pay at but said its requirements for an out 100 percent of the value of losses than its competitors, even
on everything else.” least 50 percent of a fire victims’ inventory of personal property its customers’ policies. though some of its rivals were
Jones’ action — along with pol- personal property claim without losses were flexible. The com- “If rates were to be based on paying out claims at a higher
icyholders banding together to an itemized list. Many have pany requires customers to policy limits instead of actual threshold without requiring
pressure top industry executives agreed to pay even more, but verbally provide an overview of losses they would be significant- documentation. She eventually
— has had a significant results, Jones said he could not release the personal property lost in the ly higher for all of our custom- turned in an inventory list.
said Amy Bach, executive direc- specific payout policies because fire. An adjuster later conducts ers,” Sarkissian said in an email. “My response was Travelers
tor of the United Policyholders, their reports to regulators were an on-site inspection, said CSAA clarified its documen- determined the amount for
a San Francisco-based consumer not covered under the California spokesman Eric Samansky. tation requirements in January inventory not me. I paid for that
advocacy group. Her group has Public Records Act. “These two methods are used when customers began trading amount and as such that is what
assisted fire victims with advice State Sen. Mike McGuire, to confirm the existence of a fully stories about the way they had I should receive,” Hendrickson
on how to lobby and negotiate D-Healdsburg, wants insurers furnished home. Where we estab- been treated. Some received said in an email.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 A15

INSURANCE filed complaints with his depart-

CONTINUED FROM A14
County; and the 2015 Valley fire
in Lake County.
A 2013 report by industry
analyst Marshall & Swift/Boeckh
found that 60 percent of Amer-
ican homes were essentially
underinsured by an average of
17 percent. The state Department
of Insurance found in a 2008
survey that those with so-called
“extended replacement cover-
age” — policies that can pay out
as much as 150 percent of the
overall limit in some cases — still
ended up paying out-of-pocket
costs in 57 percent of the cases.
So why does this keep happen-
ing?
The simple answer, analysts
said, is that insurers try to
attract and keep customers by
focusing marketing messages
on affordable annual premi-
ums, rather than the amount of
coverage needed for a worst-case
scenario.
“People view this as an
investment, not as a protective
measure,” said Howard Kun-
reuther, a professor at the Whar-
ton School at the University of
Pennsylvania, who has studied
the industry. “The best return
on a (homeowner) policy is no
return at all.”
The industry contends that
it’s not in their best interest to
underinsure their customers
because that would also put
the carriers at risk, said Mark
Sektnan, vice president of the
Property Casualty Insurers As-
sociation of America. Insurers
have been sued for both underin-
suring a customer and overin-
suring a customer. They also
want to keep customers happy,
given that it costs four times
more to obtain a new client than
retain an existing one.
“We try and provide a reason-
able estimate of what it costs to
rebuild. It’s impossible to predict
every possible situation,”
Sektnan said. Most carriers, for
example, increase their policy
coverage annually for inflation.
He added that carriers offer
additional products to ensure
clients will have sufficient
coverage in event of a natural
disaster. They include extended
replacement cost coverage and
policies for building code up-
grades, which will pay for items
such as sprinkler systems that
ment, though many of those
charges concerned misrepresen-
tation of a policy. The legislative
threat, however, may spur the
carriers to make offers more
amenable to their clients.
“Those insurers have the re-
sources to pay those losses,” said
Jones, who noted that carriers
were also beneficiaries of the
federal tax cut bill passed late
last year.
There have been successful
precedents for applying such
pressure.
“The one thing that carriers
are very concerned about is
their reputation,” said Kun-
reuther of the Wharton School.
He noted some insurers in the
aftermath of Hurricane Andrew
in 1992 initially balked at paying
claims for homes built under
more lax building codes, but
ultimately paid out under public
pressure. “They decided that it
was in their best interest,” Kun-
ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT reuther said.
HOMEOWNER’S DILEMMA: “Nobody is looking out for your best interest,” said Joshua Nix, who unpacks his son’s school Nix is hoping such pressure
backpack at his family’s new home Wednesday in Santa Rosa, about his discovery of his home being underinsured after the fires. — especially from policyhold-
er groups that formed in the
are required in new homes. “I think the other thing they perennial issues that have reap- aftermath of the fires to trade
But carriers will get pushback can’t figure in is the demand peared again with the local fires. personal stories and insurance
from their consumers about for surge pricing,” Everson They include AB 1797 by As- strategies — may help his fami-
paying more. “They are very said. “The prices are going up semblyman Marc Levine, D-San ly’s plight.
price sensitive,” Sektnan said of because of supply and demand.” Rafael, which would require After five months of dealing
consumers. Given the severity of the prob- carriers to offer a replacement with USAA, he has strong,
Indeed, agents are under pres- lem, policymakers have tried cost estimate for rebuilding at visceral feelings about insurers.
sure to make sales. The correct to exert pressure on carriers to each annual renewal and for When an insurance commercial
amount of coverage can result in offer more generous settlements. new policies; and SB 1263 by Sen. comes on TV, Nix must change
customers taking their business For example, Jones has called on Anthony Portantino, D-Glendale, the channel. But unlike some
elsewhere to another carrier carriers to provide up to 100 per- which would automatically in- other USAA policyholders, he
because of the higher cost, said cent of personal property claims crease coverage limits to 150 per- has not filed suit against the
McKenzie Smith, a broker with without providing an inventory cent of the policy in the event company, hoping that mediation
CIG Redwood Empire Insurance — which has had some success. of declared state of emergency. through the state Department of
Center in Petaluma. “I’m using every ounce of my Jones noted that past measures Insurance may be more fruitful.
Smith noted one customer authority and then some to help have been opposed by insurance “It’s just another cog in the
who was about $150,000 under- fire survivors,” Jones said in an lobbyists. wheel with the stress,” he said
insured. He urged the customer interview. “I’m hopeful, given the of the claims process.
to boost the coverage to no avail, But he only has limited enormity of the damage and He realizes that his family is
even though it would only add a powers. Even though Jones won loss that people suffered, that lucky because he took his wife’s
few hundred dollars more annu- his state Supreme Court case the Legislature will act and not advice to buy another house
ally to the cost of his premiums. last year against the industry, be influenced by the insurance near Piner High School two days
“You can only force so much,” he still did not get the authori- industry,” Jones said. after the Tubbs fire, paying for
Smith said. He added that he ty to require insurers to set or But industry representative it with savings and temporary
will drop his clients who will not recommend an insurance policy Sektnan noted that major chang- living expenses from the carrier.
insure to the proper amount. for a replacement home. Instead, es to coverage could make home- As a result, Nix now has more
The October wildfires have the court ruling only provided owners insurance unaffordable time to spend playing with his
not only exposed the widespread limited power over how carriers to many Californians. kids rather than to worry about
problem of underinsurance, but communicate with policyholders “You can put bells and whis- making the math add up. But,
also exacerbated it by driving and how they calculate policies tles on it, but they may not be still, he would rather have the
up construction costs. With so for replacement coverage if they able to afford (it),” he said. funds to rebuild on his old lot.
many people seeking to rebuild, prepare estimates for a customer. Legislative action may not “No amount of money is
the combined costs for construc- “The Legislature has not given help local fire victims who find worth the amount of stress this
tion labor and materials have me the authority to have them themselves facing a significant process has ensued,” Nix said.
increased about 30 percent since (carriers) pay more than what’s gap between their insurance
Jan. 1, said Matt Everson, a in the contract,” Jones said. payout and the cost of rebuild- You can reach Staff Writer Bill
former financial planner who is Lawmakers have helped apply ing. Jones said his office has Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.
assisting fire victims in compil- pressure as well, unveiling a helped recover $43.5 million for swindell@pressdemocrat.com.
ing detailed rebuild estimates. series of bills intended to address local policyholders who have On Twitter @BillSwindell.

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 Rebuild
SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 • SECTION H

NORTH BAY

The Thompson family, clockwise from

upper left, John, Lauren, Jack, 9, and
Will, 5, lost their Mark West Estates
home in the Tubbs fire and are now
confronting the reality that their
homeowners insurance will not cover
the full cost of replacing their home
and personal belongings.

FOCUS ON INSURANCE

F
ive months ago, wildfires irrevocably transformed our communities in ways we could
witness, but perhaps not immediately grasp. For thousands of homeowners, the di-
saster raised a wrenching question: Rebuild or relocate for good?
Insurance coverage has proved a pivotal factor in that answer. With labor and
material costs soaring, homeowners are finding their payouts fall far short of what it would
take to rebuild. That gap also is shaping what becomes of burned neighborhoods, where
more for sale signs went up in March than new foundations and walls. Here, we collect the
stories that this month shaped our scarred region.

ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

INSIDE

FIRST HOME REPLACEMENT
BEGINS IN FOUNTAINGROVE
Questions linger about the neighborhood’s
water system, parts of which have been
contaminated with benzene.
Page H4
RESIDENTS JOIN TOGETHER
TO REBUILD IN LARKFIELD-WIKIUP
A Southern California builder arranges
to construct nearly 80 homes in Mark West
Estates with first move-ins by this fall.
Page H6
READY TO RETURN, FAMILIES COPE
WITH INSURANCE WOES
Property owners are finding that their
policies may not cover the full value
of homes and possessions.
Page H10

PARTICIPATING SPONSORS
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 H3

COFFEY PARK IN SANTA ROSA »

PG&E prepares to rebuild the neighborhood’s utility infrastructure and
benefactor steps in to help pay cost of replacing burned walls along Hopper Avenue

Homes and hope

are on the rise

PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

On Astaire Court in Coffey Park, a new home is reflected in a burned lot flooded with rainwater.

C
By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

offey Park in March

appears to sit in a kind
of limbo. Some 1,200
homesites in the Santa
Rosa neighborhood have been
cleaned, but the major rebuilding
effort has yet to get underway.
Contractors have begun work on
18 homes by last week, according
to the city. But by early March
more than 40 homeowners had
sold burned lots there, according
to real estate records.
Even so, progress continues
toward the neighborhood’s recov-
ery. Here is a recap of key events
in the past month:
Utility work poised to begin
Pacific Gas & Electric is preparing to start
a major reconstruction of Coffey Park’s
underground utilities.
The work slated to begin next month will
include new electrical and natural gas lines,
plus phone wires and cables for television
service. All will be placed in a single trench
in roadways just beyond curb gutters.
The original lines for those services sit
under the neighborhood’s sidewalks. Experi-
ence from the Oakland Hills fire and other
blazes has taught utilities that infernos can
leave the lines at risk of failure.
“What we learned is you can’t rely on
what’s in the ground,” said Jim Chaaban,
PG&E’s service planning supervisor for
Sonoma County.
The utility’s goal is to complete the work
in Coffey Park by the end of October.
PG&E also will replace underground utili-
ties in other fire-damaged areas around Santa
Rosa. Chaaban estimated the utility will dig
nearly 23 miles worth of trenches for electrical
and gas lines in the Coffey Park, Mark West
and Hidden Valley neighborhoods.
Until the permanent utilities are in place,
PG&E has strung electric wires on poles for
temporary power throughout Coffey Park
and other affected neighborhoods.
Walls prove problematic
A benefactor has stepped forward to help
Workers with Pierre Homes prepare to put the second floor on an Astaire Court home in Coffey Park.
Coffey Park neighbors find a solution for the
burned concrete and wood walls that run
along Hopper Avenue.
AshBritt, a Florida debris removal
company working in the burned North Bay
neighborhoods, this month said it would
make a “significant” financial contribution
toward build new walls for 1,500 feet along
both sides of Hopper west of Coffey Lane.
AshBritt, which is on track to clean nearly
2,000 burned properties in the North Bay, is
partnering with the Coffey Strong neighbor-
hood group and the nonprofit Rebuild North
Bay.
Neighbors had been flummoxed over
what to do with the walls, which they
learned belong to the 38 property owners
whose homes backed up to them on Hopper.
Property owners have said they lack the
ability to find a joint solution and many of
them likely can’t afford the expense of re-
placing the walls. One contractor estimated
it could cost $300,000 for new walls on both
sides of Hopper, not including the demoli-
tion of the existing ones.
Coffey Strong will work with residents on
a design and will seek bids on demolition
and reconstruction, said Jeff Okrepkie, the
group’s chairman. For the walls to be rebuilt,
the affected property owners must agree in
writing to allow the project on their land.
Many Coffey Park residents have said the
burned walls have become an eyesore and a
reminder of the fires. In contrast, new walls
would show the recovery is underway.
“For us, this will be a symbol of progress
and hope,” said Jennifer Gray Thompson,
Rebuild North Bay’s executive director.
Business people look to recovery
Coffey Park sits near an expansive com-
mercial and industrial area in northwest
Santa Rosa. The wildfire directly and indi-
rectly impacted those businesses.
The northwest area contained many of
the 29 businesses damaged or destroyed in
the city. Large retailers affected there in-
clude a Kmart store that was lost, a Trader
Joe’s supermarket that remains closed and
a Kohl’s department store that reopened
this month.
The fires also affected small businesses
and their staffs.
Some business people like Sean Burns,
owner of the Mail & More Store on Hopper
Avenue, spent 15 hours with family and a
friend hosing down the small shopping cen-
ter to protect it from the flames. Burns, who
manages and whose family has an interest
in the center, said he’s looking forward to
the recovery because it’s hard to work day
after day in the midst of a neighborhood
that suffered such destruction.
Others shared in the economic losses that
continue after hundreds of families were
TURN TO COFFEY PARK » PAGE H6

“For us, this will be a symbol of progress and hope.”

JENNIFER GRAY THOMPSON, Rebuild North Bay’s executive director on new walls along Hopper Avenue
H4 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018

FOUNTAINGROVE IN SANTA ROSA »

Compared to other areas of the city, a larger number of the neighborhood’s
residents appear to be walking away from their properties

Rebuild begins, but

more lots for sale

CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Most of the lots at the end of Deauville Place in Fountaingrove have either been sold or are for sale at the end of the fire-scarred cul-de-sac.

B
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

uilding began on the first

home in the fire zone of
Fountaingrove, where
lots continue to go up for
sale by the dozens and a trou-
bling source of water contami-
nation has been identified by city
officials. Here are the key events
and issues that arose in Fountain-
grove in March:

First new home after fire

Fountaingrove’s rebuilding process reached
a key milestone with the reconstruction of
the first home getting underway in earnest.
Ed and Kathy Hamilton have done every-
thing in their power to see their Shillingford
Place home rebuilt as quickly as possible,
and were gratified to see the walls of their
new home going up during breaks in the wet
weather.
“We were the last to burn and the first
to rebuild,” said Ed Hamilton said. “We’re
just very happy to be where we are in the
process.”
As crews from commercial framing contrac-
tor RHI installed the thick timbers to make
up the first floor of their two-story home, the
Hamiltons reflected on the gifts that allowed
them to be farther along in the rebuilding
process than many of their neighbors.
They had good insurance, which paid out
a total of $1.9 million to date, a contractor
who urged them to move quickly before ma-
terial and labor costs soared, and a can-do
attitude that has kept them looking forward.
Though the experience of losing their
home has been a traumatic one, seeing the
walls going and knowing they’ll be in their
new home by next summer has helped the
couple speed the healing process, Kathy
Hamilton said.
“Emotionally, it just makes a huge differ-
ence,” she said.
Rebuilding data
Together, the October wildfires were the
most destructive and deadly in state histo-
A for sale sign on Deauville Place in Fountaingrove, one of 16 burned lots for sale on the block.
ry. They claimed 40 lives and burned 6,000
homes in the region, more than a third of
them in the city of Santa Rosa. The result-
ing home insurance claims have exceeded
$9 billion.
Of the 129 homes in Santa Rosa that have
started the permitting process, 59 have been
approved, with 25 of those under construc-
tion, according to city permit data. Seven of
those are in Fountaingrove.
Such information is now more easily
available to the public than ever before. The
city recently launched a real-time data por-
tal for the rebuilding permit process.
The site contains detailed information
about which burned lots are in which phase
of recovery, from debris cleanup to permit
review and approval, and the start and com-
pletion of construction.
“We’ve heard through this process that
people crave information to help them
decide what they want to do,” said David
Guhin, director of planning and economic
development. “We want to be transparent
with this data so it will give homeowners
hope and encourage them to stay and re-
build.”
The site is available at pd2go.net/DWHnk.
To date, of the 2,646 residential sites
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
burned in the city, more than 80 percent
have completed the cleanup but not started
the rebuilding process.
The figures are in real time because when
the city’s planning staff inputs the updates
into the city’s internal tracking system, that
data is uploaded to the site, Guhin said.
Costs prove daunting
Compared to other areas of the city, a
larger number of Fountaingrove residents
appear to be walking away from their prop-
erties.
Real estate sites list the Fountaingrove
area as having the highest concentration of
lots for sale anywhere in the city. Dozens
upon dozens of burned lots are currently
on the market, mostly between $250,000 and
$500,000.
There are many reasons why this may be
the case.
The costs of rebuilding in Fountaingrove
are higher than in other parts of the city, in
part because the homes are larger but also
because of the challenges involved in build-
ing on hillsides. Many residents of the area
TURN TO FOUNTAINGROVE » PAGE H6

“We were the last to burn and the first to rebuild. We’re just very
happy to be where we are in the process.”
ED HAMILTON, Fountaingrove homeowner who’s rebuilding his home that was destroyed by the Tubbs fire
H6 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018

COFFEY PARK
CONTINUED FROM H3
forced out of the neighborhood.
Business is decidedly down at Luigi’s
restaurant on Hopper. Waitress Erin
Beaumont expects that more custom-
ers will appear once construction
workers show up to rebuild homes,
“but it’s not happening fast enough.”
And many like Brian Hunt, found-
er and brewmaster of MoonLight
Brewery on Coffey Lane, are looking
forward to the days when neighbors
once more stroll over from their
rebuilt homes to hoist a glass.
Before the fire, Hunt said, rough-
ly half of his customers used to be
locals, “and a lot of them don’t live
here anymore.”

With children in mind

Outsiders and neighbors contin-
ued in March to provide a human
touch to the children of Coffey Park.
The Children’s Museum of
Sonoma County hosted a free night
for Coffey Park families, with pizza
provided by Mary’s Pizza Shack.
The event provided not only a
time for residents to talk with one
another about matters besides
insurance, contractors and debris
removal, it also offered an opportu-
nity for many adults and children
to reconnect after
being dispersed to
temporary living
quarters around the
county.
“A lot of these
kids hadn’t seen
each other since the
fires,” said Collette
Kristi Michaud, the mu-
Yamaguchi seum’s founder and
CEO.
The children’s museum is reaching
out to host similar events for sur-
vivors in the Mark West/Larkfield,
Fountaingrove and Sonoma Valley
areas. “Then we’d like to do one for
the first responders as well,” she said.
Also, Coffey Park’s own Schaeffer
School received a special guest last
month: 1992 Olympic gold medalist
figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
The mother of two and author
of a New York Times best-selling
children’s book read to more than
100 kindergarten and first-grade
Schaefer students and gave each an
autographed copy of her 2016 book,
“Cara’s Kindness.” The book speaks
of paying forward acts of caring.
“They just loved her,” said Prin-
cipal Jamie Worthington. “They ate
her up.”
A foundation is all that remains of a Deauville Place home destroyed in the Tubbs fire. The property above the Fountaingrove golf course is
one of 16 lots for sale on the street. Seven homes are under construction in Fountaingrove.
FOUNTAINGROVE
CONTINUED FROM H4
are also older, often making them less
willing or able to endure the rebuilding
process. The gaps in insurance cover-
age are also turning out to be larger in
higher-value areas, forcing homeowners
to find ways to fill that void if they want
to rebuild.
And questions also linger about the
area’s water system, parts of which
have been contaminated with benzene, a
problem city officials are still working to
understand and resolve.
Water contamination
The city is now confident that melting
plastic components in its water-delivery
system are responsible for the benzene
contamination it discovered in the area’s
drinking water.
A report from a forensic chemist hired
by the city to analyze the hundreds of
samples gathered in and around the advi-
sory area has confirmed that the benzene
originated from the super-heating of
water lines, many of which are made of
high-density polyethylene.
In November, after being alerted to
odor complaints by residents returning
to homes that survived the Tubbs fire,
the city established a 184-acre zone
north and south of Fountain Grove
Parkway around Fir Ridge Drive. Resi-
dents were urged to stop drinking and
boiling water while the city investigated
the source of the contamination.
Since then the city has also identified
isolated examples of benzene outside the
advisory zone, triggering a more exten-
sive round of testing. They’ve recently
found benzene in Coffey Park, as well,
though they believe those instances
are isolated in service lines, as opposed
to the water mains, making the repair
more manageable.
Water officials have said a full repair
of the water system could cost up to
$43 million.
Details of the investigation and possi-
ble solutions are set to be outlined at a
joint meeting of the City Council and the
Board of Public Utilities, which oversees
the city’s extensive water-delivery and
treatment systems.
The meeting will take place 2 p.m.
Tuesday at City Hall.
Building in fire zone
Builders and investors are betting that
Fountaingrove will bounce back. More
than two dozen lots have been snapped
up in recent months by people looking to
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
the future.
As challenging as rebuilding in the
burn zone is proving, building new units
for the first time is proving a politically
thorny proposition.
Plans by developer Oakmont Senior
Living to build a fifth residential com-
plex in Fountaingrove have touched off
a debate over whether the city should al-
low new housing in the area, given that
it has been ravaged by wildfire twice in
the past 53 years.
The 49-unit Emerald Isle project
would house 70 people in a mix of assist-
ed living and memory-care units on the
edge of the Fountaingrove golf course.
The company argues the project
will help the city meet the demand for
senior housing in Santa Rosa. But a
member of the Planning Commission
and Design Review Board expressed
concerns about building more senior
housing in a historical corridor for
wildfires.
“Right after the fires, it was very hard
to even consider anything up there. I
still feel that way,” said Vicki Duggan,
the lone member of the Planning Com-
mission to vote against the project.
You can reach Staff Writer Kevin
McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.
mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On
Twitter @srcitybeat.

We’re always ready to listen, answer your questions and find

the best policy to meet your needs.

Let’s get started.

H8
SONOMA VALLEY »
More than 400 homes were lost in the area, most around Glen Ellen,
where some residents are having to sell lots or plan smaller houses
As cleanup ends,
Architect George Psaledakis of Glen Ellen is a volunteer firefighter who helped fight the October fires. He is now involved in seven home rebuilds in the county, including five in Glen Ellen.
rebuilding lags
By CHRISTIAN KALLEN
G
SONOMA INDEX-TRIBUNE
overnment contractors
are nearing the end of
their lot cleanup work and
residents are moving forward
with a handful of rebuilding proj-
ects, a few of them with an eye
on green, energy-saving designs.
Here’s a recap of key events
and issues in Sonoma Valley in
March:
Emotional and logistical headache
The Nuns fire burned through Sonoma
Valley in October with such ferocity that
the blaze ended up scorching more acres
here than were burned elsewhere in Sono-
ma County by the firestorm.
Almost a third of the valley burned,
including its pair of regional parks and
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, which together
frame views for miles around.
“It’s a contest nobody wants to win,” said
Jennifer Gray Thompson, the executive di-
rector of the Rebuild Northbay Foundation,
which is helping spearhead recovery in the
county. “But I have to remind people that
(the 1st supervisorial district) in particular
had the most damage” by acreage.
The home losses — though far less than
the more than 3,000 claimed in Santa Rosa
and hundreds more on its northern out-
skirts — are staggering for the valley. More
than 400 houses were lost, and with them
the memories and mementos of the resi-
dents.
Picking up the pieces is, for many, an
emotional as well as logistical nightmare.
“There are a lot of emotions, as you can
imagine, going on with our clients,” said
architect George Psaledakis, a Glen Ellen
resident for 22 years who is involved with
seven home rebuilds in the county, five of
them in his hometown.
“You have to understand they lost liter-
ally everything, they don’t have anything
left. What they want to do in most cases is
recreate what they had before.”
That may mean building a house of the
same size, layout and orientation as the one
they lost during the horrific days of Octo-
ber.
Psaledakis, 59, has served for 20 years as
a Sonoma Valley volunteer firefighter. His
son, Max, also now answers fire calls as a
volunteer.
“We were ‘toned out’ — our pager toned
and announced that we had to go to the fire
station at 10:20 p.m., Sunday night, Oct. 8,”
Psaledakis said. “We fought fire from that
point on for eight days.”
One step at a time
So far, only a bridge over Sonoma Creek
on private property and three Glen Ellen
houses have received building permits from
the county, while four others are awaiting
plan check to verify that they can begin con-
struction, according to county officials.
After the smoke cleared, Psaledakis,
whose home survived, turned his attention
to working with the county to help stream-
line the permitting process. He was one of
about 20 other design professionals working
with the county planning department to
accelerate rebuilding in burn zones.
Fewer than 10 lots remain to be cleared in
the Nuns fire area. “We’re doing everything
we can to meet the March 31 goal to have
initial debris removal complete,” said Nancy
Allen, a spokeswoman with the Army Corps
of Engineers.
Still, in rebuilding, the region appears to
be lagging behind Santa Rosa and surround-
ing burn zones, where projects have been
quicker out of the gate.
Glen Ellen, where the valley’s largest
share of homes were lost, faces perhaps the
biggest challenge.
“When you go through Glen Ellen, it’s
when you turn onto Warm Springs Road
that you can see it,” said Thompson, who
lives in The Springs neighborhood west of
Sonoma. That narrow winding road, and the
even narrower and shorter O’Donnell Lane
paralleling it, are where most of Glen Ellen’s
183 destroyed homes sit.
“You couldn’t get into Glen Ellen for
about two weeks. The roads were cut off,”
Thompson said. “Psychologically, there’s
something to that, to have so many days
where you don’t have access to the county
services.”
Cost of rebuilding
As in other fire-damaged neighborhoods,
many homeowners in the valley are finding
that the insurance settlement offered to
them isn’t enough to rebuild the house
they had, or the house they want, given the
North Bay’s high labor and material costs.
“Most of us lost track of what it cost to
truly rebuild a home,” said Sonoma-based
real estate broker Matt Seveneau. Peo-
ple who come to his office are faced with
choices that include selling a burned lot and
moving, rebuilding on it, or just waiting to
see what happens to the neighborhood, if
they can afford it.
He mentioned a woman whose house on
Warm Springs Road was destroyed. “The
cost of rebuilding is $800,000, but the insur-
ance (settlement) is $650,000. She’s going to
walk away, sell it and get something else in
town. It’s cheaper for her to sell.”
“I feel bad for the people that can’t afford
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
to do that, and have to leave town,” he said.
“And the renters who lost their houses,
with no insurance, they’re the real victims
here.”
Psaledakis has a suggestion for owners
faced with the disparity between the insured
value of a home and the cost to rebuild it.
“They have to be firm and polite and per-
sistent with their insurance adjuster. Has it
worked? It can. The last thing the insurance
company wants to do is go to court — that’s
going to cost them a whole lot more.”
He and his wife, Nanette Names, also
an architect, are urging more people who
choose to rebuild to do so using sustainable
materials, passive design and other struc-
tural elements with the goal of a net-zero
home — one which uses as much energy as
it produces and saves.
Such energy-saving new homes are set to
be the baseline in state building codes sev-
eral years from now, but some homeowners
are getting a head start in the valley.
One of them is Arthur Dawson, a Glen
Ellen-based historian and contributor to
The Press Democrat. He and his wife, Jill,
and their 17-year-old son lost their Warm
Springs Road home of 12 years.
A few days after the fire, a sympathetic
neighbor offered them a couple of small
trailers in a backyard just a quarter mile
away. “They say we had a soft landing,” said
Dawson. They decorated their trailer with
Christmas lights for the holidays, and are
still making the best of it.
Saving energy
Getting a head start on the new green
building standards can be attractive to many
as they prepare to rebuild, not only for ener-
gy savings but for long-term affordability.
With their son headed off to college next
year, the Dawsons said rebuilding for them
means a smaller, smarter home. “Now we’re
in the process of figuring out exactly what
we want,” said Dawson. “That’s one of the
silver linings. You get to design the house
you want.”
For Thompson the push to speed smart,
affordable housing deserves encouragement.
“We have the ability right now to leap
ahead regionally, to address some of our
issues with workforce housing that we had
previous to the fires,” she said. “I think it’s
critically important.”
She stressed that recovery for the region
will depend on sustaining the energy that
has fueled initial philanthropic efforts. It’s
an energy that may be nearing exhaustion,
she fears, as attention goes to what went
wrong in the disaster and what could have
done better.
“I also want our fires to always be about
what we saved, and who we saved,” she said,
“and how we saved each other, whether or
not we even knew each other.”
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018
LARKFIELD-WIKIUP AND MARK WEST SPRINGS »
Orange County-based builder has made arrangements to construct
nearly 80 homes in Mark West Estates north of Santa Rosa
Residents join
rebuilding plan
A flag hangs in a burned lot, cleared of fire debris in Larkfield, where some residents at Larkfield Estates are exploring a group rebuilding effort.
T
By J.D. MORRIS
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
he first homes on burned
lots started going up in
Larkfield, residents are
planning joint rebuilding
efforts and a series of community
meetings highlighted recovery
challenges as Little League teams
returned to ballfields. Here’s a
recap of key events in the greater
Mark West area in March:
Cleanup in its final stages
As of Monday, Sonoma County planning
officials had issued nearly 50 rebuilding per-
mits related to the October wildfires in the
unincorporated areas. County planning data
shows more than half of those permits are
in the Mark West Springs corridor, which in-
cludes Larkfield-Wikiup. The figure includes
homes, garages, bridges and decks destroyed
or damaged by the fires in the area, where
nearly 740 homes were lost five months ago.
The government-sponsored debris remov-
al program in the area is “virtually done,”
said Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Allen said
Monday just 12 more properties needed
to be cleaned in the Tubbs fire burn zone,
including two in Fountaingrove and one in
Larkfield.
“Most of these were inaccessible,” Allen
said. “A bridge burned or the road was in
such bad shape so we couldn’t get in in our
trucks ... There were some access issues that
had to be addressed before we could get to
these remaining properties.”
With the debris cleanup in its final stages,
rebuilding is slowly beginning to pick up
some steam. On the fire-scarred lowlands
of Larkfield-Wikiup, workers this month
poured the foundation for the new home of
Jim Dickey and his wife, Megan Basinger.
Dickey, a local land surveyor, said his firm
has surveyed nearly 50 fire-ravaged parcels
in Larkfield Estates alone, and a total of
more than 330 countywide.
“It’s rewarding, but it’s hectic as well,”
Dickey said, who anticipates his Dorchester
Drive home being rebuilt by the end of this
year.
“I now get a few hundred more emails
every day than I’m used to. We’re doing what
we can to keep everybody moving forward,
helping with the rebuild effort in whatever
way we can.”
Southern California builder
A group of residents who lived in two
scorched neighborhoods in Larkfield-Wiki-
up are hoping to hasten their community’s
recovery by using the same company to
rebuild many of the homes they lost.
Orange County-based Stonefield Cos. has
already made arrangements to construct
nearly 80 homes in Mark West Estates north
of Santa Rosa and is in discussions with
Larkfield Estates property owners about a
similar group rebuilding effort.
Site regrading and recompacting in Mark
West Estates was supposed to start earlier
this month but was put “on standby” pending
drier weather, a company spokesperson said.
Despite the delay, the company says it’s
still on track to begin home construction
in May, with the first move-ins anticipated
this fall, weather permitting. The company
has completed three similar efforts before,
having rebuilt numerous homes in Southern
California following destructive wildfires
there in 2003, 2007 and 2008.
Stonefield executives declined interview
requests but said in a statement through a
spokesperson they are “honored to be able
to assist Sonoma County” by embarking on
the company’s fourth group rebuild in the
last decade and a half.
Rebuilding ‘by sheer force of will’
Mike Holdner, one of the Mark West
Estates owners who helped bring Stonefield
into the picture, said he started cold call-
ing home builders about a week after the
firestorm ignited, asking if they wanted to
lead a group rebuild of his neighborhood.
But the project didn’t make sense financially
for builders more accustomed to buying land
and constructing brand-new subdivisions
from the ground up.
Then another Mark West Estates home-
owner’s friend who was familiar with Stone-
field’s work in Southern California connect-
ed the neighborhood with the company.
Because Holdner’s employer, Keysight
Technologies, had given him free reign to
focus on the fire recovery for a while, he had
already compiled a trove of detailed infor-
mation about Mark West Estates. Holdner
and his son used Google Maps to identify
which of the five neighborhood floorplans
were used by each of the nearly 180 homes in
the subdivision, and he also acquired from
county planning officials another trove of
data about the houses.
So by the time he met with Stonefield,
Holdner said he was able to “dump a massive
amount of information about what we used
to have,” he said. He remains optimistic that
Stonefield will get the first homes rebuilt by
later this year, although he’s prepared for the
project to hit some inevitable speed bumps.
“I tell them by sheer force of will, we’re
rebuilding it. And I got enough will to get it
done,” he said. “We’re gonna hit some pitfalls
in there somewhere, and we’ll just overcome
them.”
Holdner never doubted he would rebuild at
his address of 17 years: It’s the only home his
11-year-old son has ever known.
“That was the house we took him home
to after the hospital,” Holdner said. “I think
for him, just from an emotional stability
H9
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Daniel Rogers, his
brother, Chuck, and
his mom, Phyllis
Rogers, listen intently
during the Mark West
rebuilding meeting
at Mark West
Elementary. Phyllis
Rogers lost her home
to the Tubbs fire
in Larkfield.
standpoint, for him to go back to the same
neighborhood and have his house in place is
important. But mostly, I like my house — I
want it back.”
Community gatherings
Larkfield Estates residents gathered
March 9 for an informal meet-and-greet
with state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healds-
burg. More than 100 people turned out for
the gathering at Riebli Elementary School,
according to Brad Sherwood, who lost his
Larkfield Estates home in the fires.
Sherwood, a spokesman for the Sonoma
County Water Agency, said the meeting was
“fantastic.”
“For probably the first 45 minutes, he just
listened to stories of how people escaped
the fire from the neighborhood,” Sherwood
said. “Similar stories of how there were
no warnings, people relied on each other
to knock on doors to become aware of the
fire.”
A broader swath of the Larkfield-Wikiup
and Mark West Springs area attended the
county’s latest rebuilding town hall Wednes-
day evening, where numerous residents
heard recovery updates from officials
with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Army Corps and county staff
members.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. continues
to bring power back to the area as well.
Workers were set to power up a four-pole
temporary overhead power installation
in the Redwood Hill Road area Saturday
if weather permitted, according to PG&E
spokeswoman Deanna Contreras. Similarly,
the Carriage Lane and Carriage Court area
in Wikiup is set to be powered up Sunday
with 16 poles, 10 transformers and eight
LED streetlights — also weather permitting,
Contreras said.
And despite the devastation still eminent
throughout much of the area, the communi-
ty was preparing to herald one if its proud
annual traditions Saturday morning with
the opening day of the local Little League
at the baseball diamonds on Lavell Road.
It’s an annual tradition that draws a legion
of youth baseball players in uniform along
with their parents and siblings.
Typically, there’s not a parking spot to be
found by 7:30 a.m., said Ron Calloway, the
superintendent of the Mark West Union
School District and a Wikiup resident.
“Opening day of Little League in our com-
munity is a big experience here,” Calloway
said. “It’s just a good time ... Tradition and a
sense of normalcy.”
H10
INSURANCE STRUGGLE » Fire victims discover they may not be covered for full rebuild cost
Homeowners coming up short
By GLEN MARTIN
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
F
or Lauren and John
Thompson, catastrophe
barged in last year as it
did for thousands of others that
night: with the smell of smoke.
The thick scent roused the
Wikiup homeowners from their
sleep, and they ran out to the
street to investigate. All seemed
normal, except for the strong
wind and the sharp tang of
burning wood that it carried.
“So we went back inside and
went on Facebook, and all the
messages we were seeing were
pretty frightening,” said Lauren
Thompson. “We went outside
again, and this time we could
see this deep orange glow from
the direction of Petrified Forest
Road. It was incredibly omi-
nous.”
While they stood transfixed,
a car sped up the street. The
driver yelled that a fire was
coming over the hill, and that Lauren and John Thompson examine original blueprints of their Mark West Estates home that burned down
everyone had to evacuate. The during the Tubbs fire. It’s unclear if the Thompsons’ State Farm insurance policies will cover their full loss.
Thompsons needed no further
prompting. They packed a bag
with essentials, roused their two kids,
jumped in their own vehicle, and left.
By then all the streets in and out of the
Wikiup area were clogged, and some
buildings at Cardinal Newman High
School were aflame.
“There was so much traffic that it
took an hour and a half to get from our
house to Highway 101,” Lauren Thom-
son said. “But even though we knew it
was a serious wildfire, we didn’t think
we’d lose our home, let alone our entire
neighborhood. We just thought there
was no way everything could burn.”
The next day, the Thompsons learned
that it was all gone: their home, all the
houses on their street, the entire neigh-
borhood.
“In one sense, we were lucky,” said
Lauren Thomson, a marketing director
for a real estate firm. “We were able
to find a rental home in Windsor just
a couple of exits north on the freeway
from Wikiup. But for the first couple of
weeks, I found myself getting incredibly
frustrated, angry, even. This wasn’t my
home. This wasn’t my store where I
shop for groceries. We felt disconnect-
ed.”
The couple’s kids, however, served
to center them, bring them back to a
tolerable emotional baseline.
“We had to make sure things felt
normal for them, that they were com-
fortable,” Thompson said. “We had to
Disputes with insurer stall settlement
By GLEN MARTIN
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
J
eunee Craw-Molinaro’s childhood
was tough, particularly during her
high school years. Raised by a single
mom, she was the oldest of four
children. The family lived with her
mother’s boyfriend. There were inces-
sant arguments between the two adults,
and during Craw-Molinaro’s senior
year, her mother took the kids and
moved out of the house.
“She had decided she’d had enough,
but we had no place to go,” said
Craw-Molinaro.
“We stayed with friends. Often (the
children) were split up, and we even
spent a couple of nights in our car. We
ended up in a hotel we couldn’t afford.”
Craw-Molinaro came away from that
experience with two resolutions.
“First, I would never let a man treat
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make sure they got to school on time,
and that they were picked up on time.
That really helped us keep our priori-
ties straight.”
Also anchoring the couple was their
determination to rebuild. They never
had any real doubt on that score. They
loved the Wikiup area, and they figured
they were sufficiently insured.
“I called my insurance agent at State
Farm, and basically just said, ‘What do
we do?” Lauren Thompson said. “They
read us our coverage, and it came to
$750,000. Our home had been appraised
at $715,000, so we figured we were OK.”
They weren’t. Being in the real estate
business, Thompson already knew
there was a housing shortage in Santa
Rosa, and that labor and materials were
at a premium as a consequence. But
when she and her husband started pen-
ciling out numbers for reconstruction
costs, she discovered the situation was
worse than she had thought.
“For the house we had — four bed-
room, 2,900 square feet — it was going
to cost between $850,000 to $900,000 to
rebuild,” Thompson said.
The Thompsons felt they could still
go ahead, but they’d have to use all or
most of the money from their contents
coverage — the ancillary policy cover-
ing household goods — to do it.
“And even then it could be tight,”
said Thompson. “We had $60,000 cover-
me or my children the way my mom
had been treated,” Craw-Molinaro said.
“Second, I would never be homeless
like that again. I would work hard to
put myself through college and make a
great life for myself.”
Craw, as she was known before she
was married, had an ally in the pursuit
of those goals: her boyfriend, Lance
Molinaro. They had met her junior
year in high school, and were wholly
committed to each other. After gradu-
ation, Craw moved to New York to live
with her father, saving money while
Molinaro went to college. They main-
tained close contact, and she moved
back to California within a year to pur-
sue her own education. They married
when Craw was 20 and Molinaro was
21.
“We both worked full-time jobs while
we went to school,” she said. “After
college, we started our family.”
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018
ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
age for cleanup costs, and we went with
FEMA to do that job. But we probably
won’t get that bill for a couple of years,
and it’s not at all clear that $60,000 will
cover it, so we’ll have to put that money
aside. I lost a week of work during the
fires, and my husband is an internal
investigator with the state Department
of Corrections. We’re working people,
we’re not independently wealthy. We
have two kids, and the bills keep coming
in. We don’t have a lot of options.”
So when State Farm told the Thomp-
sons that the company could only
cover 75 percent of the contents policy
without an itemized list, she became, as
she put it with considerable understate-
ment, “extremely upset.” The burden
of meticulously itemizing each and
every piece of household property was
more than difficult — it was practically
impossible, and she strongly suspected
State Farm knew that.
“You spend hundreds of hours deal-
ing with the aftermath of a catastrophe
like this, and then you’re told you have
to do more and more needless work just
to get the full amount of money owed
to you. It’s too much,” Thompson said.
“We were already upset with an initial
lowball offer of $630,000 for construc-
tion costs, and then delays by adjusters
that they attributed to the holidays,
so this just put us over the edge. We
became even angrier when we talked
Their first child, a son, was born
shortly after they graduated. Within a
few years, they had three children. The
family lived modestly: no cellphones, no
cable TV, one car. They were able to save
enough money for a down payment on
a Rohnert Park condominium. They re-
modeled it with a minimum of cash and
a lot of sweat equity, sold it, and finally
were able to fulfill their lifelong dream:
their own house. It was in a leafy, tran-
quil neighborhood of Coffey Park.
“It was our forever home,” Craw-Mo-
linaro said.
They lived in it for four years, until
the night of Oct. 8, 2017 — the night
both their house and their dreams
went up in flames. What followed was a
narrative that became only too familiar
in Sonoma County: initial panic, hours
of uncertainty spent driving aimlessly
through the darkness and smoke, grief
on the discovery that their home was
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to fire victims who had been
covered by other companies,
and they had received the full
amount of their contents poli-
cies with no questions asked.”
It turns out a lot of other fire
victims covered by State Farm
felt the same way — at least
144 of them, in fact. The group,
including the Thompsons, sent
an open letter to State Farm
CEO Michael Tipsord and the
firm’s board of directors urging
immediate and full payouts
on property coverage without
delay, noting such action “would
be relieving to so many of us
with one of our many burdens,
while creating positive public
relations and good will.”
California Insurance Com-
missioner Dave Jones in Jan-
uary urged insurers to waive
the inventory requirement,
requesting they provide up to
100 percent of personal prop-
erty coverage for fire survivors
without having to compile the
detailed list of lost belongings.
A State Farm representative
said that while the company was
not waiving “any contract pro-
visions,” policy holders can receive and
keep an advance on up to three-quar-
ters of their contents policy without the
inventory.
“For those customers seeking addi-
tional amounts beyond the 75 percent,
State Farm is available to support them
in completing the contents inventory
process,” said Sevag A. Sarkissian,
a company spokesman. “Customers
do not have to wait until their entire
inventory is completed to submit to
their claim. We encourage submitting
inventories by rooms to make it easier
for our customers to compile. We also
recommend grouping items of similar
quality/price/age.”
Thompson is feeling somewhat more
sanguine these days because she and
her husband recently received a check
from State Farm for $784,000 for con-
struction costs. But they still need the
payment from their contents policy, and
it remains unclear how much money
they’ll receive, and when they’ll receive
it.
“In any contact with them, you just
feel this pressure to settle, and at the
lowest possible cost,” said Thompson.
“It’s unrelenting. We’re negotiating
in good faith. We’ve always paid our
premiums. People who lost their homes
here are suffering PTSD. This just adds
more and stress to a situation that has
already put us all at the limit.”
one of the casualties, then the desper-
ate efforts to find shelter.
“We were in a hotel for 38 days
before we found a place to rent,” said
Craw-Molinaro. “I found myself in the
one place I swore I’d never go back to —
living in a hotel with my family, with no
permanent home.”
Still, Craw-Molinaro and her hus-
band were not passive in the face of
catastrophe.
“We allowed ourselves one day to
grieve,” said Craw-Molinaro, “and the
next day I got on the phone to my in-
surance broker to file a claim. We were
determined to rebuild.”
That began the second phase of the
family’s ordeal. Though her broker was
solicitous and helpful, their subsequent
dealings with their insurance com-
pany, Safeco, felt almost Kafkaesque.
TURN TO DISPUTES » PAGE H11
LOCAL MATTERS
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 H11

DISPUTES ried the payment she receives won’t

CONTINUED FROM H10
Disputes were almost immediate,
including issues over household
property. The family had $180,000
in coverage for personal property,
Craw-Molinaro said, but rather
than cutting a check for the full
amount, her adjuster offered two
options: agree to a payout that
would amount to about half the
coverage, or submit a detailed and
itemized list of all the losses. The
first option would result in a check
in two to three months, the adjuster
said, while the second would yield
a sum closer to full coverage, but
could take more than year to issue.
Rather than choose, the family
hired a public adjuster at their own
expense to arbitrate on their behalf.
An agreement has yet to be final-
ized.
“It’s just so frustrating,” said
Craw-Molinaro. “I’ve talked to other
people whose companies paid out
the full amount for personal prop-
erty coverage, and they did it right
away and without an itemized list.”
Meanwhile, the family has been
working with a contractor to rebuild
their home. That portion of their
claim seemed to be going satisfacto-
rily, with Craw-Molinaro’s adjuster
serving as an intermediary with
Safeco.
But then the family learned the
company had hired a consultant
to assess and process the claim.
Craw-Molinaro talked to the con-
sultant, and immediately felt things
were going sideways.
“He said something to the effect,
‘Oh, we just want to make sure you
get the money for your claim.’ And
I responded, ‘Well, just pay me,
then — my contractor’s ready to
go and we want to rebuild.’ And he
said, ‘Well, we just want to help you
figure out ways to cut costs. Like,
if you wait for a year to rebuild the
cost would be a lot less, because
right now prices for materials and
wages are so overinflated.’ It was
just more of a runaround, and I got
angry.”
So angry that she posted her story
in vivid terms on Facebook. Her
insurance broker and hired adjuster
got involved, Safeco’s consultant
“has backed off,” and the family is
now anticipating, or at least hoping,
for a satisfactory resolution.
Still, Craw-Molinaro feels she
must remain vigilant at every step
to ensure she won’t be lowballed —
or simply not paid. And ultimately,
even in the best scenario, she’s wor-
cover the expense of rebuilding the
family’s new home. As with many
fire victims, she’s finding her cover-
age won’t meet the region’s rapidly
escalating construction costs.
“We’re going to have to find loans
to make up the difference,” she says.
“Meanwhile, the expenses keep ac-
cumulating. Lance has a good job as
a chemist, I’m a preschool teacher,
but it’s a struggle. We have a lot of
credit card debt that we had to take
on since the fires — and of course,
we have to keep paying our home in-
surance premiums, which somehow
seems a little ironic.”
Glenn Greenberg, a spokesman
for Safeco, said he couldn’t speak
directly to Craw-Molinaro’s case
due to company policies concerning
customer privacy.
“We do provide initial payments
on content policies without an
exhaustive inventory, and then offer
in-depth interviews to customers,”
said Greenberg. “Many times these
conversations result in payments
that can actually exceed coverage.
Sometimes they don’t, and then
(customers) can provide an itemized
inventory.”
Craw-Molinaro said she isn’t
singling out her own insurance
company as a rogue player. The
problem, she maintains, is endemic
throughout the industry.
“I’m finding that poor service or
slow or inadequate payment seems
pretty widespread across all insur-
ance companies,” she said. “It seems
it’s not so much a matter of the com-
pany, but the adjuster you end up
with. It’s more a matter of luck than
anything else.”
None of this, however, is suffi-
ciently daunting to divert the family
from their goal: getting back into
their “forever” home. On a recent
late winter day, the family explored
their old homesite at Coffey Park,
now cleaned of ash and debris.
Her husband, Lance, sighed, and
Craw-Molinaro laughed.
“Ever since the fire, we both have
that sigh,” she said. “Sometimes we
sigh together, and just look at each
JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
other and shake our heads. People
tell you that you’ll get over some- Trinity, from left, 9, Phoenix, 12, Draven, 14, Jeunee Craw-Molinaro and Lance Molinaro gather at
thing like this, but I’m not sure you the site of their Coffey Park home, where they hope to rebuild.
ever really do. Somehow, it’s always
with you.”
Lance looked around at the blast- “I’m finding that poor service or
ed landscape that had once been a
thriving neighborhood.
“Whenever I smell smoke, no mat-
slow or inadequate payment seems
ter how faint, it brings it all back,”
he said. “Just the slightest whiff will
pretty widespread across all
do it.”
This time Craw-Molinaro sighed. insurance companies.”
“For me, it’s the wind,” she said. JEUNEE CRAW-MOLINARO, Coffey Park fire victim

from the North Bay Fires

Redwood Valley and Santa Rosa Community Recovery Fund

Whether counting the blessings of the
Season or considering tax advantaged
charitable giving, please remember the
long-term needs of our community by
making a donation today to the Redwood
Valley and Santa Rosa Community
Recovery Fund.
More than homes and buildings were
lost. Our community lost gathering places,
community centers, ball parks, elder care
centers, schools, and places to enjoy with
our children and families. Among our
community members that lost their homes
and all their belongings are teachers and
emergency workers. Community space,
youth and elderly, teachers and public safety
are the critical threads in the fabric of any
community. The rebuilding of this fabric
will take time and resources beyond the
near-term rush of support.
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Growing a renewable resource business
takes time and our planning reaches out
100 years. When we think about the North
Bay Fires we think about the long-term
needs of our community.
To that end, we support the Redwood Valley
and Santa Rosa Community Recovery Fund
with a MATCHING CHALLENGE. Every dollar
you contribute, we will put in a matching dollar.
• We will match dollar for dollar
the first $400,000.
• The funds will be distributed in
Mendocino and Sonoma Counties.
• The funds will be directed to youth,
elder, educators, emergency workers,
and animals displaced by the Nuns,
Redwood Valley, and Tubbs Fires.
• Beginning in 2018, the funds will be
distributed by the Community Foundation
of Mendocino County via an independent
committee and a regular report of
distributions will be provided on our
website until the fund is exhausted.
• The independent committee consists of
three local citizens – Carmel J. Angelo,
Mendocino County resident, Buck Ganter,
Mendocino County resident, Marty
Olhiser, Sonoma County resident.

CONTRIBUTE HERE: http://bit.ly/forward-together Follow us:

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Make checks payable to: The Community Foundation of Mendocino County
Memo: Redwood Valley and Santa Rosa Community Recovery Fund
Mail to: The Community Foundation of Mendocino County
www.MendoCo.com
204 S Oak Street • Ukiah, CA 95482
IRS Tax ID 68-0330462, a 501(c)(3) tax deductible contribution
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018
COVERAGE CHECKUP » Why you should read the fine print in your policy
What’s in your insurance?
By STEPHEN NETT
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
I
magine ordering a full-course
dinner at your favorite restaurant.
You’re having a pleasant time. Then
your waitperson brings the meal, and
plops it all straight onto the table in
front of you without a plate. You might
be surprised. Everyone expects a plate
to come with the meal, even though
there’s nothing on the menu to say it
does.
We’re generally safe assuming those
important little extras, like silverware,
cups and napkins, will automatically be
included, even if we haven’t specifically
ordered and paid for them.
Insurance for homeowners and
renters, on the other hand, doesn’t work
that way. If the coverage is not actually
written into your policy, you won’t be
getting it.
And the wrong time to learn what’s
missing is after you’ve been served.
That’s the message from insurance
experts working to help residents deal
with insurance claims after the recent
wildfires.
According to Nancy Kincaid, press
secretary for the California Department
of Insurance, studies suggest as many
as 60 percent of the state’s homeowners
are underinsured and don’t know it
because they haven’t read or updated
their policy.
For example, she said, many peo-
ple were surprised to learn that cars
destroyed by fire in their garage weren’t
covered by their homeowners insur-
ance policies. You need comprehensive
auto insurance for that, and many peo-
ple drop that coverage for older cars.
The California Department of
Insurance (CDI), the state’s largest
consumer protection agency, oversees
more than 1,300 insurance companies,
handles insurance complaints and
provides consumer information and
hotlines.
Janet Ruiz, the California Repre-
sentative for a nationwide insurance
industry group, the Insurance Informa-
tion Institute, says that consumers don’t
often fully appreciate that insurance
policies are contracts. While it’s under-
standable people may not want to spend
the time to read them carefully, it’s
well worth the effort to discover what
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“Supporting our community
during the rebuilding process.”
they include and what they exclude,
and shop around for coverage, she says.
Keeping policies up to date is equally
crucial, as many disaster victims are
now learning.
While nothing can prepare people
for the tragedy of events like wildfires,
or fully restore their personal losses,
insurance can be an important and
essential aid to recovery. Both groups
provide extensive help and guidance be-
fore, during and after disasters. Here’s
the main things they say consumers
need to know.
Make sure you’ve got
the correct insurance coverage
Buying a policy based on the price
you paid for your home –– or even
its market value –– may not provide
enough money to replace it if it’s dam-
aged or destroyed. The cost of rebuild-
ing your home may be much higher
today than the purchase price.
The average cost to rebuild a home,
usually stated as dollars per square
foot, is something a reputable local
builder can help estimate. It pays to stay
current on that cost, and make sure
it’s reflected in the coverage you buy,
because it can change over time. (For
current estimates on rebuilding costs
in Sonoma County see story on insur-
ance on p. A1).
Keep in mind that the costs of
upgrades like granite countertops and
custom cabinetry will not be included
in the average cost per square foot ––
it’s just for an average home. Janet Ruiz
notes that two homes next door to each
other may be very different to replace.
An additional consideration is that
typical homeowners policies cover the
dwelling and other structures on the
property separately, and the amount of
coverage for other structures is usually
capped at around 10 percent of the
dwelling limit.
That means detached garages, man
caves, she-sheds, granny units and
barns may not be covered at their re-
placement value unless you’ve obtained
extra coverage.
Most homeowners policies include
some standard coverage for landscap-
ing –– an amount per tree or shrub, for
example –– but don’t expect it to cover
your koi pond, extensive patios or exotic
plants.
• The California Department of Insurance, insurance.ca.gov
Coverage can usually be added to
cover more valuable items, but you have
to ask for it.
Replacement cost policies usually
have a maximum dollar amount they’ll
pay out, and that can mean you’ll come
up short if costs rise. For example, new
county building codes can add unex-
pected expense. The price of building
materials and labor also can soar when
there’s sudden, huge demand after a
disaster, like in Sonoma County today.
Consider an extended replacement cost
policy: these can add 20 to 50 percent
additional protection to cover such un-
foreseen increases. And shop around,
because the amount of extended
coverage you get varies from company
to company.
Renters aren’t covered by
their landlord’s policies
Renters need their own protection,
because the landlord is not responsible
for the loss of tenants’ contents. Some
apartments now require tenants to
carry insurance, and experts say it’s
sensible to consider buying a policy for
personal contents, since it’s relatively
inexpensive. The market is competitive,
so it also pays to shop around. Rental
policies today also offer options such
as coverage for living expenses in the
event of a catastrophe.
The best price isn’t necessarily
always the best deal
Insurance polices are not all created
equal. What they cover, and what they
don’t, can depend on the company
and what you ask for. Premiums and
limits can vary widely. For help finding
competitive rates, the CDI provides
comparisons online of over 90 percent
of California’s homeowners and renters
insurance market offerings or through
the CDI Hotline at 800-927-HELP (4657).
What perils does the policy cover?
Back when Benjamin Franklin intro-
duced the first home insurance cover-
age in America, the policy just covered
fires, and you could buy fire service
–– private firefighters who would come
and put the fire out.
Today, fire protection is a public
service, and insurance policies are
available that include coverage for
calamities such as floods, earthquakes
and other risks –– but only if you ask
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H13
and pay for them. For example, home-
owners policies that cover fire damage
may or may not cover damage from
mudslides after the fire.
Most people tend to undervalue what
it would actually cost to replace their
personal belongings, experts at the
department of insurance say. Because
homeowners and rental insurance
policies include a limit, there can be a
substantial gap in coverage when peo-
ple try to replace essential household
items at today’s prices.
It’s also nearly impossible in the emo-
tional aftermath of a disaster to try and
create an inventory of every lost item
from memory for the insurance claim.
Some insurance companies now offer
assistance with preparing inventories
ahead of time.
And since nearly everyone carries a
smartphone, at the very least homeown-
ers should make a video record of their
belongings throughout the house and
room to room, opening closet doors and
cupboards, drawers and so on.
Keep in mind that expensive items like
jewelry, artwork, wine collections and
other valuables may not be covered in
standard policies. Individual items can
be separately insured, and policy holders
can buy coverage with higher limits.
Get help, ask questions, review
your policy, update coverage
Ruiz and Kincaid both recommend
consumers sit down with their agents
as soon as possible, request a full copy
of their policies and learn what’s in
them. Ask questions and seek addition-
al assistance if needed. Both groups
provide consumer assistance online, by
phone and even in person.
Ruiz also notes that filing and
settling claims is a negotiation, and
consumers should be prepared to
engage in that process. Consumer
information, agencies like CDI and
consumer insurance advocacy groups
are also available to provide guidance
and assistance.
Since no one can predict the future,
everyone makes the same recommenda-
tion: it’s better to be prepared now than
try to deal with surprises after the event.
Stephen Nett is a Bodega Bay-based
writer and speaker. Contact him at
snett@californiasparks.com.
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