California Wildfires: Bad Faith Insurance Claims
Every year, fires blaze across the California landscape with little to no end in sight. The wildfires of the west are particularly bad in areas that are dry like the greater San Diego area. Recent fires such as the Dixie, Bull Complex, and Alisal fires have caused mass destruction for environments and human habitats alike. Despite the life-altering nature of such occurrences, insurance agencies commonly look for the closest exit to bail out of – leaving you and your family susceptible to unrecoverable financial losses.
In response to the increasing number of insurance agencies denying claims for destruction to homes and other forms of property as a result of wildfires, law firms such as Dawson & Rosenthal are here to hold them accountable. Our San Diego wildfire insurance attorneys are here to help in the case that your claims have been denied. Our key focus is utilizing our experience in the field of insurance law to return your family’s life back to normal.
When is Wildfire Season?
A common question amongst residents in wildfire-prone areas is when they can most expect a wildfire to occur. Fire ecology experts have long examined this question as to the number, type, and sources of fires change over time. Dr. Sun and his team of scientists are some of these experts, identifying a loosely defined primary fire season around the summer, and a second fire season that spans between the months of October and April.
The reasoning behind this “secondary season” is the Santa Ana winds that come from the extremely dry Great Basin and move towards the coast. Their fire fanning tendencies spread wildfires three times faster and greatly threaten large, urban areas such as San Diego. Despite previous data, droughts and other climate change-caused water processes have led to a fire season that is seemingly indefinite.
What Does Wildfire Insurance Cover?
Like most other insurances, wildfire insurance is complicated and usually subject to loose interpretations by insurance companies. More often than not, wildfires cover a variety of the most important objects in someone’s life.
- Dwellings
- Miscellaneous structures
- Personal property damage
- Loss of use and extra living expenses
Of course, the policy limits, compensation caps, and other intricacies depend on the wildfire insurance policy plan. Looking into your specific insurance plan and opting to buy into additional wildfire protection, should it be absent from your plan, can better help you get an understanding of your coverage. Yet despite the abundance of wildfire insurance coverages on homes in California, some property is overlooked.
Farmers face extremely variable policies for their crops. Oftentimes, they wrongly believe that their crop insurance plans are similar to other property insurance plans. In reality, fire damage to crops is usually not covered by normal plans as insurance companies hope to evade paying out to California farmers.
Can My Insurance Company Deny Me Wildfire Insurance?
Insurance companies can try to deny wildfire insurance to their customers, even when it is written into their contracts. Insurance companies have a history of altering land value, underscoring property monetary values, declining to pay in the case of a desired relocation of the homeowners, claiming a presence in a high-risk area disqualifies payouts, and much more.
How a Wildfire Insurance Bad Faith Lawyer Can Help
It is important to remember that our San Diego wildfire insurance attorneys at Dawson & Rosenthal are here to help you in times of need. Whether your insurance agency is failing to acknowledge your need for fire protection or your claims are denied after the destruction of your personal property, our lawyers are ready to defend your rights in a court of law. Please call (619) 354-1652 or click here for fast and reliable wildfire insurance attorneys.