People who’ve lost their homes have faced yearslong battles to recover payouts as insurers deal with a surge in claims arising from more destructive wildfires.
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(Bloomberg) — Annie Compton had just put her two young daughters to bed when she heard pounding on the front door. “You gotta get out, you gotta get out now,” her neighbor said.
Comptonabandonedthelunchesshewaspreparingforthenextday,grabbedsomedocumentsandherhusband’sharddrive,loadedthekidsandtwodogsintoherminivanandfled.Bymorning,therewasnothingtoreturnto.Thewildfireshavebeenburningfortwoweeks.
“WewenttoahotelandIjustknew,becausewecouldseetheflames,”Comptonsaid.“Iknewweweren’tgoingtohaveahouse.”
Asthelastoftheembersfromwhat’ssettobethecostliestwildfireonrecordaretampedout,ComptonandthousandsofLosAngelesresidentswholosttheirhomeshaveanewnightmaretoface:completinganinsuranceclaimsotheycanbegintorebuildtheirlives.Formany,theprocesswilllikelytakeyearsandresultinalowerpayoutthantheyexpect.
A2023workingpaperpublishedby theFederalReserveBan
