Insurance Recovery

Steps to Follow to Protect Your Wildfire Insurance Recovery

• Locate copies of your insurance policies or request them from your agent or broker.
• Consider and carefully review all insurance policies that might apply (such as policies providing crop, property, or business interruption coverages).
• Check your policies to locate the address to which any formal written notice is to be sent, and provide notice of any actual or potential loss as soon as possible.
• Review policies as soon as reasonably practical to identify any sensitive coverage issues so that you are prepared to discuss your claim with the insurer in a manner that best protects your insurance recovery effort.
• If possible, inform your insurer of expenses you intend to incur to limit your losses before incurring the expenses.
• Seek insurer input regarding any measures it may recommend to mitigate damage, taking into account any limitations on access to your property.
• Keep careful notes of oral communications with your insurer, agent, or broker, and maintain copies of any such written communications.
• If possible, assign a specific person to speak with insurer representatives, including insurer-retained adjusters, to present your claim with “one voice.”
• Avoid responding to media inquiries to reduce the risk of making statements about your loss that could impair your insurance recovery.
• Take photographs and videos to preserve evidence of damage or loss.
• Prepare an inventory of damaged or lost property.
• Gather and preserve documents to support loss valuation, including historical performance data, pre-loss budgets, and financial projections.
• Keep receipts for all expenses incurred to protect your property and respond to the fires.
• Establish an accounting process to document your extra expenses and business losses on an ongoing basis.
• Document the financial impact that the inability of your suppliers and customers to operate has on your business.
• Review your policies to identify any procedural requirements or deadlines and, wherever reasonably possible, comply with those requirements and deadlines.
• Request partial or advance payments from your insurance company as needed.
• Review statements of payments and other communications from your insurer for any language releasing or giving up any claims.
• Seek legal advice as appropriate.

Emergency Information

Filing an Insurance Claim

• ACE: 1.800.433.0385
• AIG: 1.800.244.0304
• Allstate: 1.800.255.7828
• AMICA: 1.800.242.6422
• Chubb: 1.800.252.4670
• Continental (“CAN”): 1.877.CNA.ASAP
• Farmers: 1.800.435.7764
• Geico: 1.800.841.3000
• Hartford: 1.800.843.7006
• Liberty Mutual: 1.800.2.CLAIMS
• Safeco Insurance: 1.800.332.3226
• State Farm: 1.800.SF.CLAIM (1.800.732.5246)
• Travelers: 1.800.CLAIM33
• USAA: 1.800.531.8222