Firewise® Madera County

Protecting Lives & Property from Wildfire through Education. Sponsored by the Ad Hoc Cascadel Ranch Fire Safe Council

Firewise® Madera County

Firewise® Madera County

To Protect Lives & Property from Wildfire through Education

1) Prepare To Go Early > 2) Harden Your Home > 3) Get Out with Peace of Mind

Click to Download How To Get a Firewise® Home

Important Insurance Information on Wildfires

The wildfire season is still raging across our state. In our region alone, wildfires have devastated some of our communities. Even now, homeowners and first responders are fighting to protect homes, property, and lives.

While I hope that none of you have been affected by a wildfire, there are resources available to you in case disaster strikes.

Below you can find information provided by the Personal Insurance Federation of California on reimbursement for living expenses caused by a mandatory evacuation, and other useful links.

To the right you can find a phone number for major insurance companies in the event that you need to file a disaster claim.

Please click on any of the highlighted links below to visit the corresponding website.

The Insurance Information Network of California (IINC) has information for homeowners on conducting a home inventory here.

The California Department of Insurance’s (CDI) website provides Tips for Homeowners and Renters.

Insurance Information Institute has a 10 Minute Evacuation Challenge available on YouTube.

Your constituents should also know that homeowners may be eligible for reimbursement of additional living expenses (ALE) incurred due to mandatory evacuation or if a home is rendered uninhabitable due to a qualifying disaster event.

ALE typically covers:

  • Housing/hotel expenses
  • Additional food expenses
  • Furniture rental expenses
  • Relocation expenses
  • Storage expenses
  • Telephone installation expenses
  • Extra school and work transportation expenses

ALE coverage is generally included in the homeowners’ policy and, therefore, is available to help homeowners maintain their normal standard of living while they go through the claims and rebuilding process.

Policyholders need to contact their insurance carrier to obtain information about the specific expenses covered by ALE in their homeowners’ policy.

Businesses may also be eligible for reimbursement due to lost business. ALE coverage is guaranteed by law for up to 24 months after a declared disaster.

Insurance Contact Information to File a Disaster Claim

21st Century (800) 322-8200
AAA Claims Reporting/Auto Club of Southern California (Inter-Insurance Exchange) (800) 672-5246
AIG (877)-244-0304
Allied (800) 282-1446
Allstate (800) 54-STORM (547-8676)
American International Insurance Company of California (888) 760-9195
American National Property and Casualty Company (800) 333-2860
Amica Mutual Insurance Co. (800) 242-6422
Balboa Insurance Group/Balboa Insurance Company/Newport Insurance Company/Meritplan Insurance Company (888) 768-2096
California Casualty (800) 800-9410
Century-National Insurance Co. (800) 733-1980
Chubb (800) 252-4670
Civil Service Employees Insurance Company (800) 282-6848
CNA (877)
CNA-ASAP (262-2727)
Electric Insurance Company (800) 227-2757
Farmers (800) HelpPoint (435-7764)
Foremost (800) 527-3907
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (888) FIRE-HAT (347-3428)
GeoVera and GeoVera Specialty Insurance Company (800) 631-6478
IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company (Ameriprise) (800) 872-5246
Kemper Insurance (888) 252-2799
Lexington (800) 931-9546
Liberty Mutual (800) 713-7379
MetLife Auto & Home (800) 854-6011
National Interstate Insurance (800) 929-0870
Nationwide/Allied (800) 282-1446
Oregon Mutual (800) 888-2141
Pacific Specialty Insurance (800) 828-3003
Progressive (800) 776-4737
Safeco (800) 332-3226
State Farm (800) SFCLAIM (732-5246)
USAA (800) 531-8722
Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (800) 572-5246 u200B

Are You Ready For This?

Are You Ready For This? * 2008 Telegraph Right Here in Our Neighborhood * Photo Courtesy of Tim Walton, Photo One Productions
* 2008 Telegraph Fire, Mariposa County, California *
* Photo Courtesy of Tim Walton, Photo One Productions *

Wise Up & Get Firewise®!

IS YOUR HOME & COMMUNITY FIREWISE?

Are you ready to evacuate? You? Your family? Your neighbors? Can your home withstand a wildfire? Embers falling on your roof? Embers flying into your attic from miles away? Yes, Miles away!
If your answer is “No” or “I don’t know” then your home is NOT Firewise®.

What Is Firewise®?

Being Firewise® means you, your family, and your home, are prepared for wildfire. You will be fire “wise”. You will have created an emergency preparedness plan for you, your family and community, and practiced the plan.

Your home, and surrounding area, will have been prepared to withstand wildfire as much as possible. When you are Firewise®, catastrophic wildfires may not be catastrophic.

Why Be Firewise®?

A Firewise® home means you will enjoy:

  • Readiness to safely evacuate you and your family at a moments notice.
  • Potentially saving your precious family memories and heirlooms.
  • Better peace of mind: Knowing you have done all you can to prevent wildfire from claiming your home.
  • Knowing you have provided safer conditions for emergency personnel to help reduce their risk or even provide them with a safe shelter.
  • The confidence that your home has a chance to survive in the event of a wildfire.
  • Higher probability that emergency personnel will defend your home and community if the resources are available.
  • Higher probability your home will survive if there are no resources to protect your home.
  • Potentially lower home insurance rates.
  • Potentially better financing options.
  • Potentially being able to get insurance when you may otherwise not have.

Firewise® Starts at Home

Firewise® starts with the emergency plan and then moves to your home. To a fire, your home is fuel.

Firewise® mitigation addresses the condition or your home and surrounding area, now known as the “home ignition zone” or HIZ. Prepare that zone to deny fire the conditions to ignite, and you will be ready.

There are no guarantees your home will survive a major fire, but being Firewise® at least you will know you have made every effort to protect you, your family, your home , your community, and emergency personnel should a wildfire strike. You will be ready to evacuate you and your family safely and easily.

Because there are not enough fire engines to protect every structure, you have a responsibility to your family, and your neighbors, to take action to protect your own home & family, before a wildfire comes to your neighborhood.

What’s Next? Let us help you get Firewise®!

To get started getting Firewise® click to download your checklist and start doing. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.