PARTNERS
4 Community Solutions (4CS):
4CS is an organization which provides fiscal sponsorship to local, start up non-profit organizations. They have been our fiscal sponsor since 2013. They provide support for tax reporting, financial accounting, insurance, and legal advice.
http://www.4communitysolutions.org
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) San Diego:
The Fired Up Sisters are an active member of VOAD San Diego. VOAD’s mission is to enhance the efforts of member organizations through interagency planning, relief, response and recovery activities, all directed toward the goal of giving area residents adequate and timely services, impartially and uniformly delivered, when a disaster strikes. It does this through cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration.
INSURANCE ASSISTANCE:
After the wildfire, two organizations offered help in dealing with insurance agencies. They are United Policy Holders and CARe (Community Assisting Recovery, inc).
United Policy Holders offered the survivors of the wildfire a complete, multi- part program on “the Roadmap to Recovery”. They have been instrumental in lobbying for law changes in California and are active throughout the country.
Many Fired Up Sisters have participated with UPH in Fire Preparedness seminars, conferences or fairs.
United Policy Holders was instrumental to Fired Up Sisters in providing guidance in issues of insurance and recovery. UPH is a very valuable resource.
UP advocates the following:
1) UP says that they are always happy to help people who have insurance related questions or problems. Their “Ask an Expert” forums are free and available, and anyone can email info@uphelp.org any time. They stay in close contact with the CA Department of Insurance, elected officials and lawyers that specialize in insurance disputes. They can guide and advocate for people as appropriate.
2) The UP free home inventory app is great for creating a home inventory pre-loss, but also can be useful to disaster survivors (and their helpers) for pricing/valuing items. It has links to retail outlets that will pop up prices for specific items.
3) California residents now have a new tool for shopping for home insurance. This is useful if your current insurer drops you or raises your rates or does not behave well on a claim: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2015/release049-15.cfm
CARE offered the survivors of the wildfire a diverse program and individual counseling on dealing with insurance agencies. They were especially helpful in navigating the maze of placing and negotiating a claim. CARe is a valuable resource.