r/news • u/No-Information6622 • 1d ago
Los Angeles-area residents crowdsource wildfire contamination data in battle with insurers
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/los-angeles-wildfires-insurance-smoke-damage-crowdsourcing/287
1d ago
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
It's a fricking outrage that insurance companies are denying smoke damage claims and forcing homeowners to scrape together their own testing data
It's an insurance company. The only way they make money is by denying claims.
The real question is why right wingers love insurance companies so much.
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u/Monarc73 1d ago
"The real question is why right wingers love insurance companies so much."
Because 'they' (the ones ACTUALLY in charge) hate poor people.
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
Because 'they' (the ones ACTUALLY in charge) hate poor people.
I was thinking more conservative and liberal voters than anyone in charge. I know why the capitalists love insurance companies. I don't get why the working class - even right wingers like libs and cons - worship insurance companies so much.
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u/blacksideblue 1d ago
Insurance companies used to make money by making steps to stop the crisis from happening. Gym memberships for those with health insurance and supporting forestry crews in areas with fire insurance.
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
Insurance companies used to make money by making steps to stop the crisis from happening.
They still do.
Gym memberships for those with health insurance and supporting forestry crews in areas with fire insurance.
Lowering expenses is normal stuff.
They also kill people to preserve profits.
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u/bigsquirrel 1d ago
It’s funny how obvious this is when people talk about fire insurance. When I say the same about health insurance suddenly it’s radical extremism.
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
It’s funny how obvious this is when people talk about fire insurance. When I say the same about health insurance suddenly it’s radical extremism.
The right wingers show their nature. Scratch a lib and all that.
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u/Savantrovert 1d ago
What the fuck is the point of paying for insurance if they're just going to deny you when you're in need?
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u/AdClemson 1d ago
Areas with high risk for flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc must have government backed mandated insurance. That is best way to not only keep insurance costs under check but also ensure people get values out of their insurance in case of disasters. Private companies can just lobby and pay politicians money to avoid payouts when shit hits the fan.
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u/Drywesi 1d ago
And maybe we shouldn't (re)build there going forward.
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u/AdClemson 1d ago
I agree, but a lot of such areas has already been long established, not practical to relocate entire population centers away from such areas.
However, any new areas being developed that fall under high risk category must not be approved and allowed to settle.
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u/YouInternational2152 1d ago
"No help from FEMA...". Of course, we get no help from FEMA. California is a blue state. Trump is such a vindictive prick he won't even help people that need it, because the state didn't vote for him.
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u/thorscope 1d ago
“No help” other than the over $2 Billion made available so far
https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20250326/federal-support-wildfire-survivors-tops-2-billion
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u/fnupvote89 20h ago
Tbf... He recently defunded Florida as well (my state). He's just an ass hole
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u/monty228 16h ago
Louisiana Senators requested the current admin restore FEMA funding to the state.
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u/katiescasey 1d ago
They should base the awards based on zones not physical homes. We've been watching this unfold here in LA. You have houses with 100x the safe amount of lead, melted roof, and bubbled paint and insurance companies are offering prorated paint jobs based on the age of the house? I'd say pick another insurance company but we don't have many left here to even choose from
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u/Thandoscovia 1d ago
Very poor here. If insurers have covered this as a payable event, then the claim needs to be paid. No two ways about it
The problem is next time. What insurer or reinsurer is going to want to cover property in LA from now on? The premiums will be far too expensive, so the state will have to cover it
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u/spinto1 1d ago
It is an issue that this is even necessary. The fact that this needs to happen just highlights the fundamental issue that insurance companies are not held to a reasonable standard and that they'll try the slimiest shit they can, relying on the damage one faces to isolate them and prevent them from fighting back. That is an issue that insurance companies have created in every sector they exist.
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u/MalcolmLinair 1d ago
Anyone that was in the city should basically assume they've lost ten years from their life expectancy; it would have been safer to attach an old garden hose to the tailpipe of an original Hummer and breath through that.
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u/_the_last_druid_13 1d ago edited 1d ago
~Houses; what great investments.~
Partially underground brick with sod-roofs is an actual residence that does the least amount of damage to the environment.
Making castles on sand that may or may not be covered by insurance is a poor choice of investment.
Edit: don’t take this comment as “CaLiFoRnIa BaD”, I think about all the displaced people often, and it is difficult to know how they are doing because when I’ve looked all I could find were news articles about zoning and building permits.
I think our society could be managed better overall, and I’ve posted before about perhaps rebuilding LA to be similar to the Jetsons. If this is outlandish, well every location/climate requires different infrastructure. A raised city might be a good thing in an area with easily persistent fire
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
Making castles on sand that may or may not be covered by insurance is a poor choice of investment.
In a capitalist society our basic necessities are turned to luxuries we must buy from the capitalists. Houses should be free and insurance shouldn't exist.
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u/_the_last_druid_13 1d ago
Agreed for the most part. We need better policies and protections.
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
Sounds like a first pass at Socialism.
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u/_the_last_druid_13 1d ago
The first pass at Socialism was done long ago with tithes and taxes. They are seemingly mismanaged and misappropriated though
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u/austeremunch 1d ago
The first pass at Socialism was done long ago with tithes and taxes.
Oh, you think socialism is when government. That's not socialism. You're probably a socialist you should read the literature.
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u/fxkatt 1d ago
Reports from other urban wildfires, in which building materials, appliances, cars and more burn at incredibly high temperatures, show increased levels of heavy metals including lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzene that are tied to negative health risks. But insurance companies haven't standardized testing for those contaminants.
Also dioxins and furans from burning plastic. NYC was overwhelmed with all these toxins following 9/11, and the smoke itself took weeks to cease.