Wildfires continue to devastate areas of Southern California, and residents face urgent decisions regarding evacuations and insurance claims.
Karl Susman, president of Susman Insurance Services, joins Brad Smith on Wealth to discuss how homeowners and business owners can use insurance to protect themselves from the devastating impacts of wildfires.
Susman notes that, fortunately, most homeowners insurance includes fire coverage. "It would be very unusual to have homeowner's insurance or a condominium owners policy, or even a renter's insurance policy, and not have fire coverage as part of that policy," Susman explains.
For individuals who have experienced home loss or damage from wildfires, the right course of action is to contact their insurance agent and immediately file claims. This applies even just to potential damages. Susman notes, "There is no harm in filing a claim when there are these types of catastrophes because the insurance carriers are expecting them ... it makes sense to get that claim started right away."
Related Videos
When vehicles are damaged or lost in a wildfire disaster, they are covered under automobile insurance policies. These claims should also be made immediately, even by those who have evacuated and don't have access to their documents.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here.
This post was written by Josh Lynch