Little things add up in rebuilding after a fire

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‘After the fire, problems still simmer in Yorba Linda,’ which is about the ordeal of rebuilding and working with insurance appraisers and building contractors, at latimes.com, reminded me of something ...

[Homeowner Joe Miller] points to the loss of eight large olive trees and several mature palms.
‘They will only give me $500 per tree to replace them. It’s going to cost me $500 just to remove each one,’ Miller said. ‘Every little thing is a battle.’

... It reminded me that if I’m ever in a similar situation, I’m going to hire an insurance adjuster to go to bat for me. Because I might think, OK, $500 a tree isn’t bad and never factor in removal. And that would just be the tip of the iceberg for all the costs I wouldn’t think to ask to have covered.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

second-story bedroom of Joe Miller’s damaged house in Yorba Linda provides a window on neighboring homes destroyed in November’s wildfire. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times