Washington’s Insurance Commissioner urges companies to work with fire victims

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced Wednesday that he sent letters to insurers in the Spokane area urging them to make it easier for victims to file claims resulting from the Gray and Oregon Road fires that devastated rural areas last summer.

Both fires on Aug. 18 consumed about 20,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes that displaced thousands of people and killed one man. In a previous letter to President Joe Biden, Gov. Jay Inslee wrote that it will cost more than $5 billion to repair and build.

To that end, several hundred victims were left to work with insurance companies to recoup some of that damage. Insurance companies typically require policyholders to provide itemized lists of all lost personal property to settle a claim.

In the letter, Kreidler asked insurers to adjust those requirements and allow for the grouping of like items for consideration – for example, listing “six sweaters,” rather than an individual size and make for each shirt, according to a news release.

“Unlike a normal house fire, a wildfire often completely consumes the residence and all it contains. This means people are unable to sort through the debris to find evidence of personal property loss and must rely on their memory to generate lists,” Kreidler wrote. “These wildfire victims have lost everything in their homes; an itemized list could easily be over 5,000 line items.”

In addition to requests to simplify the process, Kreidler asked insurers to consider adopting the same procedure in Washington they have used in neighboring states that have experienced devastating wildfire loss – provide people with a percentage of their policy’s total liability limits without requiring an itemized list of losses.

Kreidler suggested policyholders should get at least 70% of their home’s personal property coverage, the same figure used in Oregon after a Governor’s emergency declaration, according to the release.

Biden signed a federal disaster declaration for the area in February, unlocking Federal Emergency Management Agency Individual Assistance funding for victims. Kreidler’s office sent representatives to Medical Lake and Elk last week to help answer insurance questions from people impacted by the fires, according to the release.