California Wildfires and Insurance: Looking for Help

Aerial view of burned Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Southern California.

An aerial view of fire trucks and utility and other vehicles parked along Pacific Coast Highway near homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire in Southern California.

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

By Karl Susman, CPCU, LUTCF, CIC, CSFP, CFS, CPIA, AAI-M, PLCS

published 17 January 2025

in Features

You get up one morning, like you do most mornings, brew your cup of coffee in your Breville machine and sit down to have some liquid black gold and scroll through your phone. Nothing new in the social media world. This person hating on that person. This politician bashing that one. Pretty soon, you check the time again, realize you’re running late now and stand up to head out. You grab your laptop, hop in your Tesla and head out to Sunset Boulevard. Off you go, NPR on the radio, coffee in hand, the thought never crossing your mind that you will not see your house or anything inside of it ever again.

It will soon cross the minds of everyone in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. And then everyone in Malibu, Brentwood, Santa Monica and, soon, four other cities in Southern California.

Some people surmise that a rekindled fire from New Year’s Day that might have been sparked by fireworks has flared up and, abetted by 70 mph Santa Ana winds, envelopes Pacific Palisades. First spotted at 10:30 a.m. on January 7, a short two hours goes by before it is clear this is no ordinary fire. This is being fueled by gale-force winds that act as an accelerant, the oxygen-rich wind growing the fire by more than the size of a football field every hour, but preventing our brave firefighters from being able to fly their helicopters and planes to help get the fire contained.

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The entire city is evacuated in record time, traffic jams getting so bad and smoke growing so thick that many are deserting their cars and fleeing on foot. This is not your usual wildfire. This is going to be worse than anything we’ve seen before. Much, much worse. And it is possibly the worst, the costliest, the most devastating economic disaster caused by a natural disaster to ever hit the Golden State. And it isn’t over yet.

The images on your phone, news reports and posts on social media show an apocalyptic scene right out of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies. Buildings gone, homes gone, parks gone, markets gone, schools burned. One person I spoke with said you can stand in the street, turn in an entire circle and see for miles in every direction — no trees, facades or buildings to block your view.

Karl Susman

Karl is the owner of an LA-based insurance agency, an insurance expert witness in state, federal and criminal courts and a radio talk show host. For more than 30 years, Karl has helped consumers understand the complex world of insurance. He provides actionable advice and distills complex insurance concepts into understandable options. He appears regularly in the media, offering commentary and analysis of insurance industry news, and advises lawmakers on legislation, programs and policies.

People reach out to their insurers

Without official confirmation that everything in their home has been reduced to ash or less, many scrambled to reach out to their insurance agents, brokers and insurers to be sure they had sufficient protection.

They needed some level of comfort in knowing that although it looked like everything — and that isn’t hyperbole — was gone, their insurance policies would be there to write checks to start all over again. To rebuild their homes. To buy new clothes, and replace that tricycle for your son and your furniture. No amount of insurance protection can replace your wedding album, the china from your mother or the walking stick you kept from when you were a child walking the hills with your grandfather, but please, please, let there be money coming to help you start over.

From the first call I received, it was abundantly clear this was going to be a long day, and night, and days and nights ahead. How true that turned out to be as my office went all-hands-on-deck, taking calls, making calls, sending emails, texting and doing our jobs as licensed insurance professionals. Keeping the promise.

As insurance brokers, we’re here to help our clients in times of need. Sure, that may be if someone backs into your car. It may be if your toilet overflows and causes some damage to your floor. Of course, these are the day-to-day claims we are used to handling — you could say we do that in our sleep. But a full-scale elimination of thousands of structures in a matter of hours? That takes a different kind of commitment, temperament and willingness to roll up your sleeves and stay the course.

This is really what insurance is for, for these times when your entire life is rocked to its core, and you want, you need, you crave someone to be there to hold your hand, to tell you that you’re strong and will come back from this and to have the financial backing to put their money where their words are. That’s what we do. That’s what insurance agents and brokers do.

As of this writing, three major fires continue to burn. Hundreds of thousands of people are either evacuated from their homes, or in their homes without power or drinkable water. The American Red Cross is in full swing, helping those in need. The politicians promise fast approvals for new housing permits. FEMA has opened its wallet. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is taking applications for disaster assistance for “homeowners, renters, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes.”

All of that is happening while the fires are still burning. More homes are being lost. Most businesses are gone. More lives have been cut short. Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, Calif., 90272, is gone, certainly as we knew it. As we last saw it.

With the swift action of our firefighters, whom we can never possibly thank enough for putting their lives on the line to protect our things, our perseverance as Americans, as Californians, and time, we will get through this.

And yes, thanks to that insurance policy you purchased and the agent or broker who helped you secure it. Thank you very much for ensuring my future.

Here are some places to turn for assistance:

Want to learn more about insurance? Visit KarlSusman.com.

Disclaimer

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Karl Susman is an insurance agency owner, insurance expert witness in state, federal and criminal courts, and radio talk show host. For more than 30 years, Karl has helped consumers understand the complex world of insurance. He provides actionable advice and distills complex insurance concepts into understandable options. He appears regularly in the media, offering commentary and analysis of insurance industry news, and advises lawmakers on legislation, programs and policies.