January 01st, 2026

I spent the majority of 2025 with the Pacific Palisades fires, with a date of loss of 1-7-2025. 

First and foremost, what a tragic loss all of these homeowners suffered. Words can't express the true devastation that took place in this city.  

As with my post from last year, there are many examples that can be shared that speak to properly insuring your home or business. 

Example One: One of my clients that suffered a total loss on 1-7-2025 received a denial letter from their carrier stating there was no policy in place due to non-payment of premium. After a two-month investigation, my office determined that the carrier had received the premium, cashed the insured's check, then for unknown reasons, returned the premium with a cancellation notice to the wrong address alleging that the premium was never paid. The fact is, the check they issued was sent to the wrong address, so the insured never received a premium refund. The carrier, in fact, still had the $$$ in their possession when they sent out a notice saying they never received the premium.

The carrier had to pay the claim in this case because they sent the cancellation notice to the wrong address, so the insured never knew of the carrier's intention of a cancellation. 

This was a nearly $2,000,000 case that we were able to turn around. The client is now in the process of obtaining permits from the Building Department so that they can rebuild. Happy endings are always welcome!!!

Example Two: The one major carrier in The Palisades insured this next example......
The inexperienced adjuster at this major carrier adjusted the loss as if it were a one story home built upon a concrete slab. The adjuster initially paid $2,000,000 to my client. After my "strong" encouragement and his best effort, he then sent out another $2,000,000 to my client. That was easy enough, but this is where he drew the line and believed at $4,000,000, he had paid too much for this 4000 sf home. This is where my office really shined. We had our own consulting contractors and engineers looking into the rebuilding of this home and the very substantial foundation on this challenging lot. We eventually secured the final $2,000,000 for this homeowner for a total of $6,000,000. This is $1500 / SF, which is the appropriate amount to replace the home in this case. 

This home was properly insured and paid off for this client, as they are now in a position to rebuild the home they lost.