Neighbors crowdsource data on fire pollution in Los Angeles while fighting for insurance

The inner feelings of all survivors are running away for residents who have been housed after the wildfire ripped through the Los Angeles area three months ago.

Many people are worried about Eton Wildfire Destroy more than 9,000 structures, Killed 18 people Probably already carried toxinincluding lead, asbestos and heavy metals. But they worked hard to convince their insurers to test their property to ensure a safe return.

Data scientist Nicole MacCalla said Embers burned more than half of her roof, several windows and eaves were damaged, and her house in Altadena was filled with ashes, debris, soot, soot and damaged appliances. She said her insurance committee said USAA would pay for the pollution test, but her claim was denied after selecting a company and getting results. The regulator says the company only covers severely damaged home testing.

“Every project is a battle,” McCalla said. “It’s denial, appeal, denial and appeal, you’re waiting for weeks and weeks of response.”

Crowdsourcing pollution data

Maccalla and others unite with Eaton Fire Residents to share indoor environmental test data and compile the results into Online Map. All of the 81 homes tested so far have shown higher levels, the team said.

Maccalla said: “I have multiple people reach out and say, ‘Thank you for posting this map…because my insurance company changed its mind and approved the test.’

Many homeowners privately paid for the test after their insurance companies refused, revealing the gap in coverage. The organization hopes that the data will help residents who cannot afford to convince their insurers to conduct tests and remedies.

“If I can prove that my community is not suitable for human habitation, then maybe I can prove that my home doesn’t.”

It is not easy to know how and when you can get home safely, Potelle said. The exquisite printing of insurance policies can be frustrating and confusing, and the government has not stepped in.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has no plans to conduct extensive environmental testing. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is tracking environmental tests mainly by academic researchers and a few government agencies, but most studies have evaluated outdoor pollution.

Toxic air and limited coverage

Report Wildfires in other citieswhere building materials, electrical appliances, automobiles and heavy metal levels burned at incredibly high temperatures increase, including lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS), such as benzene associated with negative health risks. But insurance companies have not yet standardized testing of these pollutants.

Home insurance covers fire losses extensively, but there is growing controversy over what damage must be covered by torches.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara released a notice in March that allowed the company to properly investigate the company’s responsibility for the smoke, saying they could not deny such claims, including fees for the need for professional testing, if there was no thorough investigation. However, many residents still have to fight for reporting.

Janet Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Institute for Insurance Information, which represents many major insurance companies, said it is difficult to compare neighbors because each claim is unique due to the physical structure of each house, actual losses and defined coverage limits.

“It can be different, insurance companies are sensitive to claims,” ​​Ruiz said. “You have to work with your insurance company and make sense of what may happen.”

Tests should be covered even if some insurers disagree.

“It’s perfectly reasonable to do some kind of environmental test on people so that their homes are safe and their property is safe,” Jones said. “We’re talking about very disastrous high-temperature fires where various materials melt and some of them become toxic.”

National Planning Struggle

The state’s Last Resort insurance company, known as the “California Fair Access Insurance Requirements Program”, has been reviewed for years in the process of handling how to deal with smoke damage claims. Changes to the 2017 Fair Plan limit coverage to “permanent physical changes,” meaning that smoke damage must be visible or detectable if there are no claims that laboratory tests require approval. State officials said the threshold was too high and illegal and ordered changes.

Dylan Schaffer, the attorney who led the class action lawsuit, questioned the threshold for fair plans, said he was surprised that private carriers were making similar claims for fire damage.

“The damage is not caused by smoke, but by the damage caused by fire pollution,” Schaffer said. “They complicate it because it saves them money.”

Meanwhile, Altadena residents are Fair plan Said their claims were still rejected. Jones believes that the debate will end only when lawmakers take action.

Hilary McLean, spokeswoman for the Fair Plan, declined to comment on ongoing lawsuits and individual cases, but said the Fair Plan pays all covered claims based on the regulator’s recommendations.

“Our policies, like many others, require direct physical losses to cover,” McLean said.

Worry about the safety of your children

Potelle said her home could be the first hint of toxicity after meeting with her AAA insurance regulator a few days after the fire. Even though she was wearing a mask, her chest still hurt and her voice wrinkled, she wondered if her home was safe for the 11-year-old.

Stephanie Wilcox said her toddler pediatrician recommended testing their homes. Her farmers’ insurance policy also includes coverage for lead and asbestos, which she paid out after several denials in addition to wildfire coverage.

“After preliminary inspections,[the farmers]told us that the remedy would cost about $12,000 and that would be habitable, just like we could go back tomorrow,” she said. “But there is no way now.”

She plans to request new estimates, including emission reductions and other costs, citing the results.

Similarly, Zach Bailey asked for pollution tests in late January. His house with his wife and toddler is located on an island largely survived in the neighborhood where the fire was wiped out. After months of denial, National Farm Agree to pay for lead and asbestos testing because the remedial company cited federal worker safety regulations.

He said it shouldn’t be that difficult.

“It feels like insurance companies should have a script at this point,” he said. “They should have a process to keep people safe because it’s not the first disaster like this.”

The story has been corrected to show that the name of the resident group is Eaton Fire Residents United, not Eaton Firefighters unite.