GREAT FALLS — Several Great Falls homes have been ravaged by fires this winter season, and although you may think that once the fire is out, the problem solved, it's just the beginning for dealing with things like insurance.
Pam Hansen Alfred is a State Farm Insurance Agent, and she knows a thing or two about fire coverage.
Alfred said, “It depends on who causes the fire, but in a homeowner's policy, fire is covered. Yes.”
Insurance companies have been in the news recently, due to dropped policies in Los Angeles just before the wildfires this month. According to Alfred, if you have coverage at the time of the fire, you are safe.
Alfred said, “We don't distinguish a fire as being an act of God or not. So that wildfire that you're making reference to in California, if you had a State Farm policy, those would be covered in full.”
However, getting coverage when you live in a wildfire-prone area may be difficult.
Alfred said, “Just recently in the last couple of years, we've come out with a, some kind of a measurement that tells us if a home is in a wildfire area. So we're not, really excited about insuring homes that we know has a great potential for a wildfire because that affects everybody's rates.”
Alfred says you can reach out to your insurance provider and ask if your home is in one of these hot spots. Besides this, the largest issue she sees people struggling with is being underinsured.
Alfred said, “Well, one of the things that's been happening due to inflation is people are underinsured just because the cost of materials and labor have gone up astronomically.”
She recommends reaching out to your provider yearly to make sure you are properly insured.
You can get in contact with Pam Hansen Alfred here.
