{"id":905482,"date":"2026-03-24T15:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905482"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:50:24","slug":"wildfires-smoke-damage-claims-handling-breakdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wildfires-smoke-damage-claims-handling-breakdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Claims Handling Breakdowns From LA Wildfires One Year on"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dan Veroff | Claims Journal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been more than a year since the Palisades and Eaton Fires<\/a> in Los Angeles, and attorneys who work in first\u2011party property claims are still seeing a steady rise in disputes. That trend isn\u2019t slowing down anytime soon\u2014these claims will continue moving from adjusters\u2019 desks into legal disputes for at least another year or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every claim is unique, but the same patterns keep showing up. Some carriers have handled these fires well, others far less so. This isn\u2019t about calling out anyone by name; it\u2019s about calling out the practices that are creating unnecessary conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow\u2011Rolling Total Loss Replacement Cost<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

California is one of the most expensive states in the country to repair or rebuild a home. The Pacific Palisades sits at the very top of that cost curve. So why did so many large carriers initially insist that rebuild costs would be far lower?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are explanations for the practice\u2014none of them good. What we\u2019ve seen over the past year is a slow escalation of replacement allowances, creeping upward every several months at a snail\u2019s pace. And then, almost on cue, at the one-year mark, many carriers decided they were done adjusting. No more increases. No matter what the market data or construction realities show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This matters because California is an open\u2011policy state. A total loss doesn\u2019t guarantee payment of policy limits; the loss still has to be measured. But in the real world, most policyholders are underinsured or just barely adequately insured. The idea that large numbers of Palisades or Eaton Fire homeowners were overinsured to the point that their rebuild costs need \u201cheavy scrutiny\u201d simply isn\u2019t credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carriers that are guilty of this almost certainly know, at the higher levels, that at best they were being hyper-conservative pending more data. So, tell the insureds that upfront. Set expectations. Explain that more adjustments are likely and tell them what the company is doing about it. Don\u2019t be secretive and conceal context. And if delay on the carrier side slows the claim, compensate for that delay. Some carriers made an effort here; many didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer Service Is Still a Weak Link<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claims handling is supposed to be a customer\u2011service function. Most adjusters want to help people. But when they\u2019re undertrained or under\u2011resourced, they end up saying the wrong thing\u2014or saying nothing at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we\u2019re seeing now is the bare\u2011minimum approach: communications that check regulatory boxes without actually informing anyone of anything. Letters that are sparse, vague and increasingly AI\u2011generated. Adjusters being rotated out mid\u2011stream, destroying momentum and undoing progress. Agreements made by one adjuster and then unwound by the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When is the human aspect going to be put back into claims? Claimants are dealing with catastrophes, and their lives have been upended. Most of them are experiencing the worst time of their entire lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying Wildfire Science to Urban Firestorms Doesn\u2019t Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smoke profile in the Palisades and Eaton Fires wasn\u2019t typical wildfire smoke. These were urban conflagrations\u2014homes, vehicles, plastics, batteries, and building materials burning together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different smoke means different contaminants, different risks and a need for different investigation standards. Communities know this, too. People are organized and data\u2011sharing, and they\u2019re demanding real testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, carriers built strategies to resist smoke\u2011damage claims<\/a> in traditional wildfires. Those strategies do not fit these losses. Some companies adapted their scopes and testing protocols. Others are still trying to run the wildfire playbook in dense, urban\u2011wildland\u2011interface neighborhoods, where the costs of proper cleaning and reconstruction are dramatically higher. The result is predictable: the wildfire playbook fails, and claims spiral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not enough for insurers to financially prepare through underwriting. They have to operationally prepare too. Adaptation is the difference between a resolved claim and a litigated one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dan Veroff | Claims Journal It\u2019s been more than a year since the Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles, and attorneys who work in first\u2011party property claims are still seeing a steady rise in disputes. That trend isn\u2019t slowing down anytime soon\u2014these claims will continue moving from adjusters\u2019 desks into legal disputes for at… Continue reading Claims Handling Breakdowns From LA Wildfires One Year on<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10721],"tags":[9895,22,10790],"class_list":["post-905482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance","tag-advise-consult","tag-insurance","tag-smoke-damage-claim","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nClaims Handling Breakdowns From LA Wildfires One Year on - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"carriers built strategies to resist smoke\u2011damage claims in traditional wildfires. 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