June 24, 2024
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is urging insurance companies to extend the additional living expenses benefit for wildfire victims who are nearing their 12-month limit on that specific coverage.
Additional living expenses coverage provides people the funds to pay for temporary housing while their primary residence is being rebuilt. Many policies have a clause that ends this coverage after 12 months.
Kreidler also requested information from insurance companies on losses associated with the Gray and Oregon Road fires through a data call announced Monday, June 24.
More than 350 Washington state residences were damaged or destroyed in the Spokane-area fires, which began on August 18, 2023. The coverages Kreidler referenced would end in August if insurance companies take no action; by granting this additional coverage, Kreidler said, fire victims would have the time to rebuild and return to their homes without additional financial stress.
“Delays in rebuilding residences are completely out of the policyholders’ control and losing this critical benefit, which is currently paying for their temporary housing, would be financially devastating,” Kreidler said. “Most insureds do not have the financial means to pay a mortgage and temporary housing costs simultaneously.”
Some companies, Kreidler added, may have already extended additional living expenses coverage to last until the covered home is rebuilt and ready for occupancy.
“I appreciate those companies working proactively on behalf of their policyholders,” he said.
The June 24 data call requires all insurance companies with claims from the fires to complete two worksheets. The first, for all coverage types, includes cumulative losses based on lines of insurance. The second, for residential property losses only, includes specific data about the property, the claim, and if the company has non-renewed the policy since the fire.
The information collected in the data call, Kreidler said, will be aggregated provide a complete picture of the wildfire losses impacting Washington’s residents. The first report is due August 15, 2024, through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website.
Kreidler previously asked insurers to expedite debris removal procedures and simplify the property claims process for wildfire victims.
President Joe Biden signed a federal disaster declaration for the area in February, unlocking FEMA Individual Assistance funding for victims. Kreidler’s office sent representatives to Medical Lake and Elk in March to help answer insurance questions from people impacted by the fires.