WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.040 KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:10.119 House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. I am 3 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:14.359 Dean Sharp the House Whisper. I design custom homes, build 4 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:17.440 a few custom homes, and on the weekends here I 5 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:21.719 am your guide to better understanding that place where you live. 6 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:26.480 Today on the show, I am very, very excited about 7 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.480 today's show. You can hear it in my trashed voice. 8 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.640 Let me first apologize. I mean, it's not my fault, 9 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:36.320 but I lost my voice yesterday and so it's coming back. Yeah, 10 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.119 I'm a little froggy. Hey Bud, I'm a little froggy today, 11 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.000 so please just put up with me. I will try 12 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:45.399 and be as smooth and comforting as I can be 13 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.560 like I normally am. Today on the show, we are 14 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:52.640 going to be talking about something so relevant, so important, 15 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:57.719 and with a subject with so many questions attached to it. 16 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:02.320 We're going to be talking about insurance claims after disasters, 17 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:06.120 not just and of course the fires. This is the 18 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:10.200 topic that has put it to the forefront of everybody's mind, 19 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:14.560 but everything from that too. Well, you know what happens 20 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:16.599 when the pipe breaks under the sink, and then there's 21 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:19.959 damage and call my adjuster out. And where do we 22 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.959 go from there? What's the nature of our relationship with 23 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.959 insurance companies when we're just paying premiums versus when it's 24 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.959 time to make a claim, what happens and all of 25 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.200 that and everything in between. And I'm doing it with 26 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:38.239 a couple of guys who could not possibly be more 27 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.760 expert on this topic. I've got Aria Shack and a 28 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:46.159 Deer be here. They are the founding partners of Damage Law. 29 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.760 Yes they are attorneys. We will talk about their humanity 30 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.519 in just a moment. But Aria and the Deer are 31 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:56.760 here with me in studio and we're just going to 32 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.519 be going for guys. Good morning and welcome Dean. 33 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:01.239 How are you. 34 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:04.840 I'm well, you can hear I'm I'm I'm okay, I'm 35 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:08.800 all right. I'm gonna be fine. So great stuff on 36 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.560 the show today. And of course, as always your calls. 37 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:14.960 Here's the number. I'm gonna give it to you right now. 38 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.800 I just saw Richie run to the phone line, so 39 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.879 they are yep, they're open. The number to reach me 40 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:26.000 eight three three two. Ask Dean eight three three the 41 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:30.400 numeral two Ask Dean eight three three two. Ask Dean 42 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:33.199 it's just that easy. The phone lines are open now 43 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:39.039 and as always, we're talking about damage claims and insurance 44 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.240 companies today. But when it comes to your calls, you 45 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.479 can call me about anything at all about your home. 46 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:48.240 Whatever's got you scratching your head, whether it is design, 47 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:53.400 construction related, DIY, stuff inside outside, doesn't matter. Anything you 48 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:56.400 want to talk about your home eight three three two 49 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:02.039 ask Dean uh follow us on social media. We only 50 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:07.599 do the good kind, I promise, uplifting, informative, inspiring stuff. 51 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.120 We're on all the usual suspects Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, x 52 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:16.000 you know, home with Dean, same handle for them all. 53 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.280 And of course, if your home is in need of 54 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:21.719 some personal house whisper attention, then you can book an 55 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.759 in home design consult with me and the tea who 56 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:29.080 is not with me this morning. Sorry, I'm sorry, but 57 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:30.960 all do you have to do to do that is 58 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.639 go to house Whisperer dot design. All right, let me 59 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:38.840 introduce our awesome team, Elmer, as always is on the board. 60 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.680 Good morning, Elmer, Good morning Dean, Good morning everyone. How 61 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.360 are you doing in there? I'm happy? Yeah? Are you sure? 62 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:46.960 Yeah? 63 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:47.800 All right? 64 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:52.960 Believe me? All right, I'll trust you. Richie is not 65 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:00.479 near Mike, is he? Oh my gosh. Every week, every 66 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:02.840 week I have to say, Richie is nowhere near a microphone, 67 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.039 and then there you are, right in front of the mic. 68 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.039 All right, good to have you nearby. And in my earbud, 69 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.240 Richie is standing by taking calls. We got a couple 70 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:18.040 on the board even now. And so that is the peaceful, 71 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:20.480 melodious voice you will hear when you call in. He'll 72 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:22.800 tell you everything you need to know, and then you 73 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:24.600 can listen to the show while you're in the queue. 74 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:29.040 And of course, my buddy, Eileen Gonzalez at the news desk, 75 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.920 Good morning Eileen, Good morning Dean. Good to see you today. 76 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.040 Good to be seen. My voice is not so sunshiny 77 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.000 today as usual. But you know what, you can't tell 78 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:41.600 I'm in good spirits. You can't tell he didn't say 79 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.519 anything I would not have known. Sitting across the table 80 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:46.480 from me. This is when I usually say my better 81 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:48.639 half and my design partner and my best friend in 82 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.839 the world. But Tina is handling some other stuff this morning, 83 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:57.839 so she'll be back as always, she'll be back. But 84 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:00.959 Michelle Kelly is in the studio with me today. She's 85 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.759 one of our account executives and she's just brightening things 86 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.600 up in here. So we've got a room full of 87 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:11.920 people and a room full of quality, quality advice coming 88 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.199 your way. We're going to do it all right after. 89 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:19.959 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 90 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:21.560 KFI AM six forty. 91 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:25.920 I've got Aria Shack and a dear b and here 92 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:29.759 they are the founding partners of Damage Law right here 93 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:35.120 in southern California and Los Angeles. Guys, you're lawyers, and 94 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.639 so let's just start with proving that you're human beings. 95 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:43.480 And I want to hear. I want to hear how 96 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.120 you guys got together because it was obvious to me 97 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:48.319 the very first time we ever met that you guys 98 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.720 have a very special relationship and you have launched into 99 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:56.639 a very specialized field that well right now supposedly a 100 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.040 lot of law firms are really good at at the moment. 101 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.120 But this is something that you decided to do long 102 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:08.519 before Uh there was you know, fire opportunity money to 103 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.639 be made out there on this. So anyway, uh introduce yourselves, 104 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:17.199 tell me how this all started for you guys. Oh 105 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.079 we got it, Hey, Elmer, can we pop on, all right, 106 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:34.560 I think we're good. Yeah, Hang on a second, hang on, yeah, 107 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:41.399 all right, all right, I think we got it. Welcome 108 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:44.240 to live radio. We're good, Okay, go for it. 109 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.480 So I was blessed to meet my partner actually in 110 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.720 law school. I was the first day of class, first 111 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:55.040 year of law school, and it was actually quite funny. 112 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.319 I thought there was an earthquake happening during the first 113 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:01.920 ten minutes fast and I looked to my left and 114 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.560 I see my partner's leg is shaking up and down. 115 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:07.199 And we weren't friends at that time. I looked over 116 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.040 and I saw that he was quite anxious. 117 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:12.120 Hang on a second, Ari, we're still having trouble with 118 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:14.879 your mic I think you guys can hear me, Yes, 119 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.360 we can. So he Aria is describing you, go for it. 120 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:19.279 I'm going to fix his mic. 121 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.639 Aria is describing our first day in law school together. 122 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.560 I'm I'm an anxious person in general, and I tend 123 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.120 to shake my legs when I'm nervous in the first 124 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:33.360 day of school, any type of extravagant type of ordeal 125 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:35.639 that we're going to be going through. And as you know, 126 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.639 law school's very very tenuous time for individuals and Aria 127 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.199 and myself were working full time. We decided to do 128 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:44.959 law school at night. And I've never met him before. 129 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:46.800 This is the first day of school. My leg's shaking 130 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:50.160 up and down, and to my right is sitting Aria, 131 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:52.279 and he's looking at me like I'm some kind of 132 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:53.639 deranged crazy person. 133 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:56.560 And he tells me. 134 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:00.439 Hey, it's gonna be okay, don't worry, sorry, and I 135 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:02.319 look at him and I go, you know, my fiance 136 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.399 is in law school, and she's telling me about all 137 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.000 these things about you're gonna get cold called and they're 138 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.680 gonna ask you a bunch of questions. You've got to 139 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:11.279 stay on top of the reading. We work full time. 140 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.360 We're working ten hour days and we have to come 141 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.000 at night, and he's like, hey, it's gonna be okay. 142 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.399 And you know what, it turned out to be okay, 143 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:23.120 it turned out better than okay. I created this bond 144 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:27.680 with Aria, and we stayed very close friends throughout the 145 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.560 entirety of law school. Aria is like my brother. We've 146 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.240 been through highs and lows together, and then after law school, 147 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.919 when we graduated past the bar, we decided to join 148 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:42.679 a teen up together and create damage law and really, 149 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.360 you know, hit these insurance companies hard and make sure 150 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:49.320 that insurance are getting the benefits that they're prescribed to 151 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.759 for their policies and make sure that they're acting approporately. 152 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:56.120 This is not a it's not a massive field. 153 00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:57.279 No. 154 00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:58.759 As a specialty. 155 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.440 No, this is a very Nietzsche industry. It's a very 156 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.320 niche aspect of law. 157 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:08.320 And you know, you have to have the background of 158 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.799 knowing exactly how the whole construction process also occurs, because 159 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.720 at the end of the day, insurance carriers they look 160 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.440 at the insurance as if they're experts as well when 161 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:21.440 they're going through the claim process. So at the end 162 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:23.360 of the day, you always want to make sure that 163 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:25.679 you know what's going on with your home and what 164 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:29.039 the valuations if your home are, and these insurance carriers 165 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.799 they try to, you know, skip steps and at the 166 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.000 end of the day, we're just making sure that everyone 167 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:36.879 gets what they're entitled to exactly. 168 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.120 And so what drove you in that direction, I mean 169 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:43.799 there was so much other law to do, you know. 170 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.159 It really was Aria's idea when he came up to me, 171 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.759 I was going to go into transactional work on a 172 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.919 corporate level. I was the director of underwriting for a 173 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:56.159 high risk business to business lender for about eight years 174 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:00.600 prior to becoming an attorney. And I'm a very financially 175 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:04.480 oriented individual. I can read financial statements. I have that aspect. 176 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.360 I can underwrite businesses and make sure that they can 177 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:11.480 withstand alone. And Aria has about fifteen years of experience 178 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.679 in real estate and real estate transactions, and he's seen 179 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:19.200 how insurance carriers take advantage of their insurance through the 180 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:22.879 process unfortunately, and he came up to me with this 181 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.320 idea of how, you know, we could be advocates for 182 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:30.320 the insurance and make sure that they get the benefits 183 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:33.639 that they pay for on a monthly basis when a 184 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:37.440 loss is the state right. And when he came to me, I, 185 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:39.519 you know, I looked at it and I was like, 186 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.360 I've never heard of this before. You know, I've heard 187 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.399 of personal injury. I've heard of corporate law. I've heard 188 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:46.039 of transactional law, I've heard of litigation. Breach of contract 189 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:49.879 and essentially this is a breach of contract because your 190 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.120 policy is a contract. The policy binds you and the 191 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:58.639 insurer into an agreement where there are certain policies and 192 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:02.120 I mean benefits and restrictions in that policy, and once 193 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:06.360 that's breached, you file an action against the insurer and 194 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:08.440 make sure that they pay out accordingly. 195 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:13.080 But the trick here is the trick is that there 196 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:17.519 is some definition out there of what is fixed and 197 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.759 what is whole yes, and what is restored yes. And 198 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:26.360 the insurance company versus you know, they're not in there. 199 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:29.000 They're not in the business to educate homeowners as to 200 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:34.639 all the layers of what fixed means and covering all 201 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:35.399 those bases. 202 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.720 They don't have an incentive to right. You know, they 203 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.159 have a bottom line, and unfortunately the bottom line is 204 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:45.000 the shareholder. The insurance carriers only care about making sure 205 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.399 that you know, the shareholders are maximizing on whatever they're 206 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:49.840 getting paid on dividends and whatnot. 207 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.039 It's a really difficult subject for me to wrestle with. 208 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:58.720 I think everybody wrestles with it because because you know, 209 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:03.200 I don't want to communicate today to anybody that that 210 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:09.639 you know, insurance companies are evil uh entities. Uh because 211 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:13.399 we all need them, we all use them. But it 212 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:17.679 is a bizarre relationship. It's the weirdest relationship. When you 213 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:22.679 think i've i've i've i've grabbed on to uh to 214 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.559 this company to assist me in my life. You know, 215 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.600 we've made a contractual relationship. You're my friend. You know, 216 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.759 you're the helping hand and uh and and so I'm 217 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:40.039 paying you to help protect my assets and and my life. 218 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:45.720 And that's all well and good. And then something happens 219 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:51.480 when it's time to pull that trigger. And the reality 220 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:54.720 is not to overstate it or overblow it, but the 221 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.360 reality is, I am now at best in a in 222 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:08.080 a original and antagonistic relationship because because suddenly suddenly, I mean, yeah, 223 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.120 we've got the contract to hold us in place, but 224 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:16.159 we we suddenly have very very different goals now. And 225 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:19.600 that's really tough. That's really tough on a homeowner. It's 226 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:22.679 a really tough position to be in, especially if you 227 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.559 don't know every layer of your home from beginning to end. 228 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.679 And what homeowner does well a few do, a few do. 229 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:34.399 But the point is this, there are so many aspects 230 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:38.159 of where this goes. And I wish it wasn't the case. 231 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:40.519 I wish we weren't in this situation. I wouldn't know 232 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:44.799 how to do it otherwise. But it's just the reality 233 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:49.679 for everybody who's listening that when it comes to making 234 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:55.159 a claim. Once the claim day comes, you have got 235 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.480 to be wise. I'll just put it that way. You've 236 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:01.320 got to be wise how you deal with your insurance company, 237 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:06.000 because their goal is to reduce the payout, to minimize 238 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:09.879 the payout, and your goal is to maximize the payout, 239 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:13.919 all right, so that you are made whole, truly hold 240 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:16.720 the right definition of whole. And that's I think where 241 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:19.799 we're going to go next is what does it take 242 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.759 when something happens? And I want to talk about the 243 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:26.320 fires and the unprecedented nature of that. So, guys, thanks 244 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:29.639 for being here. Thank you, everybody, hang tight. We're gonna 245 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:31.720 dive deep into this conversation. 246 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:36.000 But first, you're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on 247 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.720 demand from KFI AM six forty. 248 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:43.600 KFI. That's where I am at AM six forty live 249 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.600 streaming and HD everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Dean Sharp 250 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:51.120 the house whisper with you on this lovely have you 251 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:58.279 seen it outside? Lovely, crisp, cool, relatively cloudless Sunday morning 252 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:02.840 here in southern California wherever you are across the nation listening, 253 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.559 I hope, well, you know, I know it's not going 254 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.399 to be as warm as it is here for a 255 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:10.799 lot of you. But I hope you're in a good spot, safe, warm, 256 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.360 dry good, got a warm beverage by your side, and 257 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:19.120 you got me in your ear. And we're talking insurance claims. 258 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:22.960 This is truly something that has nothing to do even 259 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.799 though my guests are founded a law firm to do 260 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:31.879 exactly this stuff right here in southern California. These truths, 261 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:34.000 like so many things that we talk about your house, 262 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:37.799 are universal across the nation. This is just the reality 263 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.919 of working with insurance companies, and that's where we're going 264 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:45.039 and of course also your calls as well in just 265 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:48.200 a bit, so hang tight with me through it all. 266 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:51.159 All right, I want to continue my conversation with my 267 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.879 special in studio guests from Damage Law, the founding partners 268 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:58.279 Aria and a Deer. Guys, let's just talk about the 269 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:01.879 fires for a second, Okay. I want to get more into, 270 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:07.159 you know, the the aspect of anybody making claims and 271 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:10.159 all of that. But the big question is like, oh 272 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:12.799 my gosh, what is going on with the fires. This 273 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:17.159 is an unpreceded circumstance. It's very, very different, and I've 274 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:21.080 had to explain that to so many people because people 275 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.720 want to know when are they going to get rebuilding 276 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.240 on that stuff. I'm like, yeah, you know, if a 277 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:29.200 single house burns down in a neighborhood or a couple 278 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.120 of houses next to each other, that's a completely different 279 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:35.039 animal than what we're dealing with right here, because that's 280 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:39.480 not the infrastructure of the neighborhood being wiped out. That's 281 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.879 just a house. And so when does rebuildings start. I 282 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:46.240 don't know, like tomorrow. You know, essentially in that situation 283 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:54.720 out here Alta Dina Palisades, we have entire neighborhoods gone 284 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:58.679 and there are issues, and there are no you know, 285 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.919 experienced experts. It's about, oh, yes, I'm the guy who 286 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:04.960 knows how to rebuild neighborhoods after fires have wiped them 287 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:07.319 all out. You would think by this time we might 288 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.400 have one of those guys, because it's been happening a lot. 289 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.400 But what are the unique issues that you're discovering right now? 290 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:15.359 I just want to hear from your perspective, because I 291 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.440 know you guys are in the thick of it. You know. 292 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.680 The biggest thing that I'm seeing right now that's an 293 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:24.279 issue is that testing. Most people are not getting testing 294 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:26.960 conducted or the insurance carrier is not proving testing. 295 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:28.880 Okay, so what does that mean? Break that down? 296 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:33.000 Testing testing for contaminants, because all these houses around the 297 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:38.039 surrounding area are older homes which carry contaminants such as lead, asbestos, 298 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.880 and it's just spreading throughout the whole neighborhood. We're finding 299 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.480 positive tests of arsenic as well on these properties, and 300 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:49.480 we're telling our clients especially, just make sure you're testing 301 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.119 your property inside and outside to know what the current 302 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.440 condition is so you can follow the protocol necessary to 303 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.839 abate it at the end of the day. Because there's 304 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:01.400 proper abatement that needs to go in process. You can't 305 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:04.839 do smoke remediation before you do lead or asbestist remediation, 306 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.559 so you got to test to see if that's within 307 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:09.400 your property or surrounding your property. 308 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:11.440 All right, So now are you talking about homes that 309 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:15.359 are directly adjacent to the fire damage, or homes that 310 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:18.279 have been partially fire damaged, or properties that have been 311 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.440 wiped out completely, all of the above, all of the above, 312 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:26.920 because all of this stuff, the lead, the arsenic, the asbestos, 313 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:30.160 it was all inert and it was all you know, 314 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:33.680 you know, in stable, in place inside the home. But 315 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:37.119 these fires have literally just tossed it out into. 316 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.279 Uh spread of contamination everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. 317 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:43.720 What insurance suggestor is going to come to a homeowner 318 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.359 and say, all right, first of all, we have to 319 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:50.440 test everything. Oh good luck, so none of them, zero 320 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:50.960 of them. 321 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:54.319 So maybe if it's not zero zero, it's a few 322 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:55.839 that will do it. 323 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:00.200 It all comes down to they're trying to skip steps, 324 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.319 not all of them, some of them, and they're asking 325 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:05.880 the clients to just start the smoke remediation at the 326 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.160 end of the day. You first need to know what 327 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.720 the condition of the home is, what it's contaminated with 328 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:14.680 before you start removing combustion byproducts such as smoke damage, 329 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:18.160 material of ash and set So you need to get 330 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:21.079 a baseline and once you know that baseline, if something 331 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.839 is contaminated with lead or asbestos. The protocol is for 332 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.720 porous items they need to be completely thrown out and 333 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:31.720 the non poores items can be professionally clean. But they're 334 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:33.559 not pushing for that. They think that you can just 335 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:37.000 come and clean it or get some dry cleaning, just 336 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:38.839 wipe it down, just clean it down. 337 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:43.279 It's dirty. It's dirty. But if it's porous. Then that 338 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:46.119 contamination has gotten into the material in a place that 339 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:49.599 cannot be cleaned. Sure by kind of by definition. All 340 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:51.759 you have to ask is the folks over at Notre 341 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:55.960 Dame Cathedral in France, it's like, how easy is it 342 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:02.000 to get lead dust out of limestone? Exactly? Right? Exactly? 343 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:04.920 I mean at the end of the day, the way 344 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.200 that they're saving their cost is that they're trying to 345 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.880 clean these items. They're getting dry and cleaned, but the 346 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.480 cost to replace that item is ten times more. So 347 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.759 that's what we're showing that the clients is that you're 348 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.559 entitled to replacement of those items because you don't want 349 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.880 to walk around with those clothes on your body, or 350 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.279 sleeping that mattress that's contaminated, or that furniture that's sitting 351 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.119 in your living room. It's just it's not safe for 352 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.440 anyone to be living around those conditions. 353 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.880 So your first step is you want to do an 354 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.000 environmental testing, see what the results of that testing is, 355 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.599 present the results to the carrier and tell them, hey, 356 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.599 look there's either lead or a specialist present in the home. 357 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:45.079 You got to do an abatement. 358 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:49.319 Now. In a situation that we're in now, like in 359 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.200 the Palisades or in Altadena. When do you do that 360 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:55.480 testing or how many times do you do it? Because 361 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:58.839 I could imagine, Okay, what if I test now and 362 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:02.599 I identify certain things on my property and then in 363 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:08.920 a few weeks, when OEES and the EPA are supervising 364 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:14.680 the neighborhood cleanup, yeah, and kicking up particulates from other 365 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.519 people's homes again into the air, how do I know 366 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.279 that my property isn't getting recontaminated. 367 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:25.000 And that's that's the number one question right now. When 368 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.680 do we start actually abating these contaminants? And our answer 369 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:33.079 is try to delay that process as long as you can. 370 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.720 Like you said, you might clean your property. A month later, 371 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:40.039 your neighbor starts kicking up dust and then it recontaminates 372 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.440 your property. And insurance carriers are not the type to 373 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.799 pay twice for the same work exactly. 374 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:49.519 There are discussions right now inside of insurance carriers where 375 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:51.920 they're saying, okay, there may there may come a time 376 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:54.799 where double testing will be required to see if there's 377 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:57.039 contaminants in the beginning and in the end, and they 378 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:59.039 may pay for that, but there's no guarantee of that. 379 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.400 I think we talk about time a lot on the show. 380 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:06.039 Time and sense of like, I'm always encouraging people when 381 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:09.079 they're building their dreams to slow it down and take time, 382 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:12.279 and it sounds like in this situation, the rush to 383 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:16.400 rebuild is not necessarily in a homeowner's best interest. It's 384 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:17.960 not not at this time. 385 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:20.920 I would say, this process is going to take some time, 386 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.440 and at the end of the day, you don't want 387 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.039 to go and conduct all this work and then your 388 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:30.000 insurance carrier doesn't cover for the cleanup again. 389 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.799 Right, exactly, all right, We've got to take a break, man. 390 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.960 I have so many questions for you, guys. This is 391 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.839 good stuff, right right, This is not the kind of 392 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:43.119 stuff you've heard before. People are sitting at home right 393 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:47.079 now thinking testing. Nobody ever mentioned that. That's why we're 394 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:48.759 doing this for you. 395 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.079 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 396 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:53.640 KFI AM six forty. 397 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.920 We are having a really, really important conversation on the 398 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:05.720 program today. I have very special guests with me in studio, 399 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:09.880 the founding partners of Damage Law here in Los Angeles, 400 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:13.640 Aria Shack and A dear b These guys, I cannot 401 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.319