Eaton Fire: Business Owner Faces Insurance Challenges
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Following the devastating Eaton Fire, a business owner is grappling with insurance payments for a building that no longer exists. Facing this difficult situation, the owner reached out to ABC7, seeking clarity on how to handle the ongoing monthly costs.
Bassem Sayegh, who owned his building on Lake Avenue and Mariposa Street in Altadena since 1975, was among those affected. His structure was destroyed in the wildfire.
“It was horrifying,” Sayegh said. “It was just like heartbreaking. I mean, this is like my livelihood in there.”
Sayegh recounted that his store was fine around 7:30 p.m. on the night of the fire, but gone just an hour later. Having been a State Farm customer for decades, he contacted the company immediately, questioning the continuation of his policy since the building was lost. He was told he must keep paying.
“To be paying for something that’s not useful anymore, I mean, for now at least, so we don’t know when it’s going to be built, whether it’s going to be built in a year … 2, 3, 4 … God knows,” said Sayegh.
Business Versus Homeowners Insurance
Insurance agent Rick Dinger of Crescenta Valley Insurance, though not involved in Sayegh’s case, weighed in on the differences between business and homeowners insurance. He explained that despite the loss of the physical building, maintaining the business policy is often important.
“You do definitely want to keep your coverage for a few reasons,” Dinger explained. “”First of all, you still have liability factors here. You own the property, you own the stuff that’s on there. There’s going to be people kind of treading on your property for different reasons. Maybe they should be there or not, but nonetheless, you’re still held liable if something goes wrong, if somebody falls and hurts themselves on the property.”
He also suggested ways to potentially reduce the premium.
“Talk to their insurance agent, make sure they talk about what the rating factors are, if they can adjust some of those to reduce their premiums, maybe consider raising their deductible now,” said Dinger.
State Farm, when contacted by ABC7, stated they could not comment on Sayegh’s specific situation. However, they issued a general statement: “Coverage needs for liability and property coverages will vary for customers depending on their individual needs during the rebuilding phase and beyond. While customers recover and rebuild, we advise them to speak with their State Farm agent about ongoing coverage needs.”
Dinger also cautioned against canceling the policy.
“When you go to rebuild, it’s going to be difficult to buy new insurance,” he said. “Obviously you’re not going to be a preferred customer because you just had a major loss, so hopefully, most often the carrier will stay on board as you do the rebuild and pay to rebuild the building.”
This article is part of ABC7’s “Ask7” series, designed to provide answers to important questions about insurance and recovery after disasters such as wildfires.
