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Homeowners in wildfire and other disaster zones, like Boulder Creek (Santa Cruz County) during the CZU Lightning Complex fires, will get added insurance benefits under the new law. When Curtis Panasuk was forced to evacuate his home in Ben Lomond (Santa Cruz County) during the CZU fires in August, he said he could hear “dynamite-like explosions reverberate off the walls” of the San Lorenzo Valley “as homes burned and their propane tanks exploded.”
Fortunately, Panasuk’s home was spared, but he was stunned when his State Farm insurance agent initially said the company would not pay for the additional living expenses he racked up while staying in a hotel for 10 days. The reason: Although the fire destroyed 76 homes in the Ben Lomond area, it did not damage any property within a 1-mile radius of his home.
Most insurers will pay for up to two weeks of additional living expenses, such as food and lodging, when policyholders are forced by a civil authority to evacuate their homes because of a covered peril, such as a fire. The California Department of Insurance is unaware of any companies, other than State Farm, that say they won’t pay these expenses unless there […]
