California Road Map to Recovery
Back to State Road Maps to Recovery
For more state specific information go to our California State Help page.
United Policyholders' goal is to demystify the insurance claim process and offer practical help to property owners on getting fair and prompt insurance settlements. Our approach is outlined in the materials posted at this website.
Our organization is made up of professionals and volunteers with many years of expertise and knowledge about insurance coverage and total loss claims. We are proud to offer the benefit of our sixteen years of experience throughout the United States working with individual claimants and communities hit by natural disasters. UP does its part to ensure that every policyholder gets the fair treatment and claim service they paid for and are entitled to from their insurance companies.
We welcome feedback and e-mail at info@unitedpolicyholders.org.
Claim Tips
Organizing Carrier-Specific Groups
Sample Forms Documenting Your Loss
Resources for Overcoming Obstacles
General Information and Links
Tax Information
You will need the free Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view most of these documents.
Claims Tips
Start by reading our Fire Claims for California Residents. This is your Roadmap to Recovery and fair settlement with your insurance company.
Organizing Carrier-Specific Groups
This document outlines UP's time-tested program for communities hit by disaster. The concept is simple, but it works!
Sample Forms Documenting Your Loss
- Personal Property Inventory Form (PDF file)
- Sample Scope of Loss/Rebuilding Estimate (PDF file)
- Trade Summary Breakdown (PDF file)
Resources for Overcoming Obstacles
- Wildfire Roadmap to Recovery (Powerpoint)
- Underinsurance (Law and Remedies) by policyholder attorney Jerry Ramsey (PDF file)
- Effective Claims Complaints (pdf)
- Public Adjusters—The Inside Scoop (pdf)
- Hiring an Attorney: When and How
- How to Reach Your Elected Officials (pdf)
- Xactimate Demystified (pdf)
- California Department of Financial Institutions (pdf)
- Mortgage Interest Issues (pdf)
General Information and Links
- About United Policyholders (PDF file)
- www.fema.gov
This is the official site of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA is an independent agency of the federal government, reporting to the President. Disaster victims who are uninsured or underinsured can apply to FEMA for disaster assistance grants which do not need to be repaid. - www.sba.gov/disaster_recov/
This is the official site of the Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA provides low-interest (generally 4 percent or less), long-term (up to 30 years) loans to help homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses recover from a disaster.
Tax Information
United Policyholders is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and dedicated to educating the public on insurance issues and consumer rights. UP publishes educational materials and serves as a resource for individual and business policyholders and residents of communities with insurance problems. UP’s Amicus Project provides information to courts of law to support policyholders’ legal rights. UP unites policyholders and their advocates by sharing information. Write to UP at 110 Pacific Ave., PMB 262, San Francisco, CA. 94111, call us at (510) 763-9740, or visit our website at www.unitedpolicyholders.org.
•••••••••••••••••••••