At the time this story was written on Monday, August 21st, the remains of Hurricane Hilary sat on the border where California, Oregon and Nevada meet. While not close to as dangerous as it was running along the Southern California coast, Hilary continues to dump water and cause some flooding along that border.
It is Southern California — however — that saw the most damage. Hilary was downgraded to a tropical storm when it hit and is the first tropical storm to ravage Southern California in 84 years.
Serious flooding is the biggest danger at the moment but there are big concerns for muddy mountain slopes whose foliage has been depleted by wildfires past and present.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is out front with advice for the state’s recovery process and for people impacted by flooding and other damages. He urges everyone to be cautious and stay safe and wants people to do what they can to protect their property from further damage.
He also points out to the state’s consumers that their homeowners insurance will not cover damages from flooding.
“This once in a lifetime storm brought rainfall and wind damage, so it is crucial consumers understand their insurance coverage and know they have options and support,” Lara said in a news release. “I have alerted insurance companies to follow California law requiring they cover any mudslide, debris flow, or other damage that is caused by our recent wildfires so that people can recover quickly.”
As most of you know, homeowners and commercial policies will cover wind and storm damage like falling trees and so on. They will not cover flooding, mudslide damages, debris flow and other damages that can come from hurricane winds.
At the same time, Lara issued a formal notice to insurance companies before Hurricane Hilary hit and noted they are legally bound to cover damages from any future mudslides or other disasters that may have been caused by hillsides weakened from wildfire.
Source link: California Department of Insurance — https://bit.ly/3OJseNP
