Fighting Fire With Fire

Many of you know that I have worked quite a few different jobs in my lifetime. From grocery store “boxboy” to florist, wedding planner and antique dealer, every job I tried, along with all my other life choices, molded me into the well-rounded person I am today. In hindsight, I wouldn’t change a thing about how I built my career.

In all of my different roles, the most rewarding one besides motherhood was working at the Los Angeles Zoo. I started in college as a volunteer researcher and animal keeper then, much later, was hired as an education assistant working alongside docents and other volunteers. I so enjoyed the relationships I built with the volunteers that I stayed on to become the volunteer coordinator, overseeing the operations of approximately 900 volunteers. It was a big job.

Prior to the paid Zoo position, I worked for my godparents for 10 years in their family-owned insurance agency in Glendale. It was in that job that I built my administrative skills using the new IBM business computers and utilized the “World Wide Web” during its infancy. I quickly learned all about home and auto insurance, got my agent’s license, handled clients M-Z, and became the sole person in the office who processed claims. The skills and knowledge I gained at the insurance agency paved the way for a 4½ decades-long career as an administrator. Today, I love what I do and have come full circle working as an administrator with volunteers at Action League of the Foothills in La Cañada Flintridge.

Over the years, I continued my own volunteer work, serving in leadership roles in several community associations. Most recently, I have railed against Senate Bill 79, fought overdevelopment in the Crescenta Valley and learned about the Board of Forestry Zone Zero fire regulations for California that will significantly change how homeowners build and landscape their yards. I have also followed the insurance industry and watched many of the large carriers pull out of the state after the Paradise, Palisades and Eaton fires due to their large payouts and increased risk. I paid attention when CAL FIRE revised its maps that reclassified most of the parcels in our area to the “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone” category. I became further concerned with the implementation of the La Crescenta Avenue “road diet” that narrowed lanes, affecting emergency evacuation routes out of town. These are the things that keep me up at night and keep me busy during waking hours.

So now it’s time to put all of my collective life experiences to the test – my husband and I were recently notified that our homeowners’ policies for the house in La Crescenta and our vacation home in the high desert are not being renewed. This is a company that has insured my family for over 50 years with no claims since the 1980s, that was recently bought out by one that regularly advertises on television. You know the one. The reasons they cited were not due to the high risk of fire, although we are sure that is their primary concern, but the inspection reports called out deferred maintenance like peeling paint on the back door and a few curled roof tiles up top. It’s ridiculous but I am not surprised as I hear similar stories from many LA residents that insurance companies are looking for any excuse to terminate policies and downsize their risk pool. Despite our frustrations and expectations of a huge rate increase, we still feel lucky to have houses to insure. So many in our communities have lost theirs.

The good news for us is that due to my long history I am armed with information and have a plan to fight the insurance company while exploring other options with my very capable agent. I already know what the California Fair Plan is, what D.I.C. (difference in conditions “wraparound” policy) means, and am ready to shift gears on earthquake and umbrella coverage.  

In the meantime, we will be working on sprucing up our properties. I’ll keep you posted as things develop.

Susan Bolan
susanbolan710@gmail.com