The Insurance Family Blog

Most of us purchase a homeowners insurance policy to protect our home in the event of a fire, wind, theft or liability claim. We would be devastated if we lost our home in a fire, especially if we did not have insurance to cover it. But what about earthquakes? In an article in the Los Angeles Times titled “Earthquake experts see the ‘Big One’ getting bigger” they write that a “recent report suggests the southern San Andreas [fault] could rupture from Monterey County to the Salton Sea” and could “end up being bigger than earthquake experts previously thought”. A basic homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage but coverage can be purchased as an endorsement or a separate policy. Clients often ask us…..Do I need it? Is it affordable? Is it worth purchasing? What does it cover? I hope to answer some of these questions for you.

The Los Angeles Times reported this morning that an analysis of L.A. County crime data shows which California communities have the most and least property crimes per capita.

Compared with violent crimes, property crimes tend to be more diverse geographically due to the fact that they are usually clustered around shopping areas, business, and high traffic streets. The crime data showed that the communities with the most property crimes included some places that also had be victims of serious violent crimes, including Chesterfield Square in South L.A, Rancho Park, Westchester and the Fairfax district.

Communities with the fewest property crimes were mostly wealthier areas such as Hidden Hills, Rolling Hills, Bel-Air, but also included Chinatown near downtown and some Northern Los Angeles Communities.

The full list of property crimes by LA City can be found at the Los Angeles Times Website.

Be sure to keep your neighborhood and family safe by having proper California Homeowners Insurance if you reside in an area found to be heavily targeted for property crimes.

According to officials, actress Ricki Lake’s beach front rental home in Malibu burnt down early Saturday morning suffering irreparable damages. The 911 call came in around 7:30 am. When police and firefighters arrived on scene, they found Ricki, her two sons, and family dog safely outside, but the house engulfed in flames.

"It appears that she was refueling some sort of portable heater when a couch caught fire and that set the whole house ablaze," said Lt. Rich Erickson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department's Malibu/Lost Hills Station.



Firefighters contained the fire in about 20 minutes, but not much was left of the beach front property. Later Ricki commented that she was trying to refuel an indoor heater and accidently set the couch on fire. She was able to remove boxes of clothing and move her cars before the home was fully engulfed. The direct cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Hopefully Ricki has California Renters Insurance, which can help devoid costs of damages to a property that a person is renting.

The fiery gas line explosion in a San Bruno, California neighborhood is a stark reminder of how fragile our infrastructure can be. With varying reports on the amount of confirmed dead, our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to those families who were affected by the tragedy. Google has created a map of emergency response centers to help those in need.

It’s easy to take for granted simple things like electricity, clean water and even our own homes providing shelter as we pursue materialistic objects or entertainment, but a catastrophe like this should give us all pause to reflect on what we value most and how it can be protected.

By all accounts, it seems there were no major warning signs and the fire just erupted from a gas line completely unexpectedly. While a major investigation is underway, there will be many questions as to what led to the explosion and why it wasn’t avoidable. Suburban life rarely gets interrupted by these types of events, so the microscope is on state officials to prevent this from happening again.

There will certainly be questions raised about California fire insurance; including who’s responsible for paying property claims and the level of liability Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have in this ordeal. Sutherland-Scherff has representatives available to answer questions about California dwelling fire, home, or umbrella insurance policies that provide protection and help for people affected by disasters who may be displaced or at risk for huge property losses.

Some photos from this disaster can be seen at the link below.

San Bruno, CA Fire Pictures - via MSNBC.com

The California Department of Insurance issued a release yesterday proposing the question whether or not Californians are prepared in the case of wildfire. Steve Poizner, California Insurance Commissioner, advised all local homeowners to proactively prepare for fires and other potential disasters by conducting a home inventory and updating their California home insurance policies.

" Today marks the eve of the one year anniversary of the Station fire, and we learned many lessons from that experience, but none more important than the fact that wildfires can strike and destroy in the blink of an eye, and we have especially seen this happen over and over again in Southern California," said Poizner .

" That's why I want to encourage all homeowners to prepare themselves today for potential wildfires. Waiting for a fire to erupt before conducting a home inventory and reviewing your insurance policy means you could get burned twice - first by the fire then by trying to recover your losses. These are concrete steps all Californians can take today to protect their homes and belongings."

Commissioner Poizner also offered the following tips for conducting a home inventory:

· Using a household digital camera and a Home Inventory Guide from the California Department of Insurance, catalogue your possessions and document their values. Photographs of household goods are especially helpful when an item is difficult to describe on paper, or if a purchase receipt cannot be obtained.

· Label photographs with information about each item.

· If a video recorder is used, commentary about each item should be included.

· A copy of the inventory and supporting documentation, such as receipts and model numbers, should be stored in a safe place, such as a safe-deposit box, work office, or a relative's house.

· These records should also include financial documents such as insurance policies and mortgage information.

Here at Sutherland-Schaffer we are prepared to help you with all your Southern California Fire Insurance needs, and prepare you for such disasters.

Real estate professionals and prospective home or commercial property buyers have unique insurance needs. For this reason Sutherland-Scherff has created a program designed to meet the specific needs of realtors and land owners no matter what the size of the deal or the type of property. Even with a glut of foreclosures, the real estate market is highly competitive and the difference between success and failure often hinges on timing and how quickly realtors can get information processed. To help California realtors, Sutherland-Scherff goes the extra mile to ensure information is provided in a timely and helpful manner. How do we do it? Three ways:

• Immediate attention to rush escrows
• We will go to your client’s home, business, or where ever it is most convenient for them
• Available to meet with individual realtors or at company meetings to help in any way we can

We’re not just about getting the business and moving on, we’re genuinely concerned with forging a mutually beneficial partnership that will allow our insurance agency to help your real estate business over the long haul. Why are we a good partner? Our goal is to make realtors look good in the eyes of their customers, and we have very type of insurance needed to ensure properties are properly covered from all types of risk. Whether it’s California home insurance, renters insurance, flood insurance, dwelling/fire, earthquake or even umbrella coverage to add an extra layer of security, Sutherland-Scherff can protect. Beyond the home/commercial property buyer, we also understand business insurance for real estate offices, so you can shop for clients and yourself at the same time. We can insure any property, brush, vacant, no updates, previous claims, course of construction and offer free brush checks on all properties. To show our appreciation, we also give $25 gift cards for all properties written, a nice token to pass along to new California homebuyers in the process of furnishing.

After the 14,000-acre Crown fire that broke out last week in Antelope Valley and the devastating Station fire that panicked Los Angeles last year, residents of Glendale and Burbank are warned of potential impending property damages that face La Canada, Flintridge, San Marino, and Los Angeles.

"All we want is to make sure the residents of Glendale and Burbank are prepared to rebuild should there be a fire," said Scott Svonkin, the commission's chairman.

Fire coverage has become an intrinsic crux of California insurance. “Homeowners shouldn’t skimp on their insurance policies,” says commission member Luther Nash. Dwelling fire insurance is often the only thing that keeps a fire from bringing financial ruin to a family.

For more on this story, visit La Canada Online, the county’s Commission on Insurance, or the county Fire Department Website.