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Thursday, October 25, 2007

'You never expect you'll lose it all'

Adrian Lucio pushed his daughter's wheelchair around the shelter at Steele Valley High School yesterday wondering what he'll do now that his home has been destroyed.

On Sunday, when the fires broke out, he and his family were visiting his mother in Mexico. His biggest worry then was 20-year old Jennifer's injuries from a recent car accident.

On Tuesday, the fires had eased enough for the Lucio family to cross back across the border to home, only to learn from a friend at the shelter that they no longer have a home. Their trailer home in Barrett Junction, their friend said, was completely destroyed.

"You never expect you'll lose it all," Adrian said.

"What are you going to do?" I ask.

"I'm hoping the state will help us out," says Adrian.

The family had no insurance, Adrian said, because no company was willing to insure his trailer.

-- By Allan Chernoff, CNN Correspondent

Posted By CNN: 10:47 AM ET
7 Comments

Unfortunately I think this is going to be the plight of many people...no insurance or no renters insurance so they will be left with nothing! But I don't think I'd put alot of trust in the government helping me too much! With all of the red tape it seems it takes forever for them to do anything! I wish these people all the luck and hope they can get some help to move on and start over!

Cynthia, Covington, Ga.

Posted By Cindy : 11:16 AM ET

Dear Allan,

Wow. These touching blogs should be published in a book later. Affecting and heartrending story. Our hearts go out to Mr. Lucio and his family. I’m sorry for all his anxieties for his family and dearly hope his daughter feels better soon. It can’t be comfortable to be in a shelter when she is in pain and recovering from a car accident. I’m so sorry.

I dearly hope the State will be able to accelerate the process and help them, but I sadly presume nothing can be solved over night.

Many of my dear friends are involved in volunteer construction work, heading down several times since Katrina and other recent diasters. What it usually needed are good neighbors or kind hearted "strangers" to cheerfully step up and pitch in and help. Otherwise desperate people will have to wait for a long time.

Most people love doing this once they are aware of the need. Hopefully others will read this story Allan and something wonderful will happen or be put in place so others can reach out and help the Lucio family during this distressing time.

Thank you for telling their story. We keep the Lucio family in our heartfelt prayers. And also pray for all the others who are going through such turmoil now. Please take care and stay safe.

In concern, Gina & family in Canada

"What do we live for, if not to make the world less difficult for each other?"
George Eliot (1819-1880)

Posted By Anonymous : 11:41 AM ET

Of course we sympathize with this family who could not get approved for insurance, but now it's time for your reporters to get back to New York. When you guys start with the personal stories, it's overkill.

Posted By ronnie knoxville, tn. : 11:51 AM ET

Let me start by saying I feel bad about everyone displaced and homeless now due to the fires across the state.

Fires have been something that California has had to deal with for as long as I can remember, so this should not be new to anyone. So why doesn't the state have more aircraft and fire fighting equipement to handle this yearly occurance?

Second why dont people learn year after year? I agree the state and federal government should help these people, but the insurance companies need to be the primary ones for those that are covered, not the tax payers.
The state and federal government should only help people once, if they rebuild in the same place the second time is on them and I believe this for anyone that builds and lives some place that is prone to yearly natural disasters.

Why should my tax dollars go to rebuild someones house every year when it is destroyed by fire or hurricane. Come on learn the first time or pay the second!

Posted By Anonymous : 1:08 PM ET

This comment brings up an interesting question: since it's alleged that at least two of the fires were intentionally set (and not acts of God), will the insurance companies not cover some of the fire damage? In my experience with insurance companies, they either don't pay for claims that are not acts of God or, if they do, they "charge it against your policy" by raising the rates. Hope the insurance companies don't try to pull a fast one on these poor people in California! We need reform not only in our health care insurance, but also in ALL categories of insurance!

Posted By Anonymous : 1:26 PM ET

With insurance companies these days finding all sorts of loopholes not to pay claims, Lucio may not be any worse off than the people who had insurance. I hope he and his family come through this ok and that the government holds the insurance companies nose to the fire this time so they will pay off on claims. Why have insurance if everything is termed an act of god? You might as well throw your money in the lake.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

Posted By Annie Kate : 3:06 PM ET

Regardless of it's cause - Fire is the first named peril on all Homeowner's insurance policies. I seriously doubt that these claims will be denied because it was an 'Act of God' or not. Homeowner's policies specifially insure losses due to fire be it an HO-A, HO-B, HO-C or whatever format the policies uses. The only time you're really going to run into the 'Act of God' loophole is in storms when your neighbor's tree falls on your car. A good policy will also pay your living expenses for a period of time if your home is destroyed in a fire. Secondly, I find it hard to believe that NO insurance company would sell them coverage. Doesn't every state have a required residual market for undesireable risks? The Fair Housing Act requires that everyone is entitled to Homeowner's insurance even if it has to be insured through the State pool. You may not like the rates but at least there is coverage for fire. Let's just hope that in the Lucio's case, FEMA cuts them a check.

Posted By Anonymous : 1:02 PM ET

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