Actress Tracey Bregman Suing Her Insurance Company Over Woolsey Fire Damage Claim

PR Newswire

MALIBU, Calif., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned actress Tracey Bregman (as seen in The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful) is suing her insurance company, Lloyd's of London, accusing them of underpaying insurance policy benefits after her Malibu, California home was completely destroyed by wildfire in November 2018. She is represented by attorney Derek Chaiken, Merlin Law Group.

Ms. Bregman's newly constructed home was destroyed by the devastating Woolsey Fire that burned through almost 100,000 acres of land and destroyed thousands of structures in Los Angeles County and Ventura County in late 2018.

After the fire, Ms. Bregman filed a claim for benefits under the homeowners' policy issued to her by Lloyds so she could rebuild her home. Despite having enough coverage to completely rebuild her home, the insurance company refuses to pay her the benefits she is entitled to. As a result, she has been unable to rebuild the property and has been living in temporary housing.

The lawsuit alleges that Lloyd's hired an unqualified and biased consultant to prepare an estimate for the cost to rebuild the property. Relying on that estimate, Lloyd's refused to pay Ms. Bregman any amounts beyond the unreliable estimate. In turn, Ms. Bregman submitted several bids from her own licensed contractors, who estimated the actual costs to rebuild would be millions of dollars more than the amount Lloyd's paid. The lawsuit also alleges that Lloyd's failed to consider the surge of construction costs in Southern California following the 2018 wildfire season.

Merlin Law Group aims to hold Lloyd's accountable for paying the full coverage benefits owed to Ms. Bregman as a result of their bad faith tactics. The lawsuit seeks an award of contractual, general and punitive damages against Lloyd's. This is another example of insurers not fulfilling their obligations to policyholders. An insurer is wrong and breaches its duty to its policyholders when it unreasonably refuses to pay policy benefits for a covered loss despite the insured having adequate coverage.