Santa Barbara Public Insurance Adjusters

What Is The Likeliness of Disaster in Camarillo?

Camarillo is known as a farming community located approximately 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Fire is the most common disaster residents are familiar with due to arid nature of the area and surrounding forest population. Only 13 inches of rainfall occurs primarily from November to February. The city has 300 days of sunshine a year and an average humidity of 62%. The chance of earthquake damage in Camarillo is much lower than the California average and is much higher than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Camarillo is about the same as the California average but much lower than the national average. There have been a total of 266 other weather extreme events within 50 miles of Camarillo recorded from 1950 to 2010 including 184 historical earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near the Camarillo area. A total of 3 historical tornado events were recorded with a magnitude of 2 or above found in or near the Camarillo area as well.

Source: global volcano database, U.S. earthquake database and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database.

Are You Prepared If Disaster Strikes Again in Southern California?

The last thing people think about is what to do if something goes terribly wrong, especially when it’s caused by external forces beyond your control. Most people think those disasters only happen in the movies in most parts of the country, but for those living in areas like Camarillo, California disaster became a reality in the May fires that started in the Camarillo Springs area and swept over the entire Camarillo area affecting thousands of residents and businesses. Of course disaster is often unpredictable which makes it hard to be ready for anything but there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of damage and recovery time if something does happen. Here are some suggestions that will help you to be more prepared for a disaster when it strikes:

If you have children, establish another safe location away from your area that you can move them to with little notice like a family member or friend’s home. Keep important documents like original birth certificates, passports and social security cards, wills, trusts or business paperwork in a safety deposit box at your local bank and/or buy a fireproof safe for your home to store valuables in such as jewelry. Provide for alternative communication in the event family members are separated by a disaster including additional cellphones, email accounts or agreed upon meeting locations. Appoint guardians for minor children because if you don’t, the courts may do this for you as there were forced to do in New York after 9/11. Coordinate planning documents to ensure it’s clear who has the power to do what and make sure there no ambiguity among multiple documents that may be activated simultaneously. Make sure you always have enough food and water to last at least a week or two for you and your family. If local stores are affected by the disaster, they may be closed temporarily or even shut down because of damage.

The Camarillo fires inspired action from the Governor who anticipates the area to have a busy fire season. The first full week of May has been proclaimed as “Wildlife Awareness Week.” A website www.ReadyForWildfire.org has been created to provide information on how homeowners, especially in areas like Camarillo that are prone to wildfires, can prepare themselves, their families and their homes when a wildfire strikes.

What Should Your Homeowner Insurance Policy Cover Southern California?

It’s important when you own a home to make sure you get the homeowner coverage that is appropriate for your area. Become familiar with your policy so you can be prepared to manage any damage and recovery that may come up. Make sure your policy covers physical property damage as a result of a wildfire and additional living expenses in case you have to evacuate which is highly probable to happen in Camarillo at one point or another due to the frequency of fires in the area. Most policies cover damage to a structure caused by fire whether it be burning or charring. As far as smoke, soot and ash that has infiltrated a building or been left on the property, some insurance companies give policyholders a hard time or have recently made policy changes that set a limit. Even though the fundamental principle of insurance is to restore a building to it’s pre-loss condition, some insurance companies tend to lose sight of this and find ways to delay payment, pay less than what is required for full recovery or straight out deny payment. The wildfire residue that was not inside the home prior to the fire should be removed properly and safely. A policyholder should consider consulting with an insurance professional to answer questions about their rights covered under their policy and the benefits they are entitled to but not all insurance professionals work for you exclusively, so it’s advised to choose your experts according to where their loyalty lies.

We handle insurance claims for:

• Commercial Properties
• Industrial Properties
• High-End Residential Homes
• Celebrity Homes
• High-Rise Condo Buildings
• Apartment Complexes
• Shopping Centers
• Hotels

We handle all types of catastrophic claim situations:

• Fire Damage Claims
• Smoke Damage Claims
• Hurricane Damage Claims
• Wind & Hail Damage Claims
• Flood & Water Damage Claims
• Earthquake Damage Claims
• Mold & Asbestos Claims
• Tornado Damage Claims
• Vandalism & Theft Claims
• Information Systems Claims
• Maritime Claims
• Aviation Claims
• Transportation Claims
• Liability Claims
• Business Interruption Claims