California’s 2017 wildfire claims climb to nearly $12 billion
The figures are the first official tallies since the fires tore through
When combined with the October fires in
"These are staggering and unprecedented losses, but these are more than just large numbers," Jones said. "Behind these numbers lies a tragic loss of life, loss of homes, loss of personal possessions and upending of whole communities. Whole neighborhoods burned to the ground."
The figures do not include claims from the
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The people affected in
But Jones said the state on Monday put insurers on formal notice that the fire was the "efficient proximate cause" of the slides and as such, should be covered. The fire stripped vegetation that, under typical circumstances, would have absorbed the rain that instead caused the bare landscape to fall into the community below.
It's not clear how binding a decision that is; Jones said it was his expectation that insurers would receive the claims and take appropriate steps to assess them.
Of the claims filed after the December wildfires, 11,167 were on residential properties. Of those, 773 were for total home loss, Jones said.
More than 520 of those were in
An additional 1,063 claims were for commercial property, with 45 of those being for total loss and 837 for personal and commercial vehicles, Jones said.
Jones also provided updated figures on the
Asked how the wildfires compared to other disasters, Jones noted the Northridge Earthquake led to around
"If you treat these October and December fires as a combined incident these claimed insured losses represent one of the most damaging natural catastrophes in
Jones urged anyone impacted by the fire to reach out, including if a dispute arises between the policyholder and the insurer.
"A big part of our job is to help with disputes," he said.
The department helped consumers get between
"The road to recovery will be a long one, but we are here to help," he said.
About 60 percent of
On Saturday, the department is hosting two workshops focused on insurance claims. One will be held from 10 a.m to
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