Insurance Companies Undervalue Personal Property Contents Claims; Here's What You Can Do
Lessons from Recent Cases
Two recently published stories offer critical insights for anyone navigating personal property insurance claims. These cases serve as cautionary tales for both policyholders and their representatives.
The Diverging Paths of Two Families After a Wildfire
A March 7, 2025, New York Times article recounts the experiences of two couples—the Ackermans and the Spaldings—who lived just a few hundred feet apart in Louisville, Colorado. Their homes, each three stories with four bedrooms and a finished basement, were destroyed in the December 30, 2021, wildfire that obliterated over 1,000 structures.
Both families turned to their insurers for help. But from there, their experiences could not have been more different:
• The Spaldings, insured by Safeco, received $311,810 for their lost belongings within seven weeks, after little more than a phone interview with the insurance carrier’s adjuster.
• The Ackermans, insured by State Farm, were offered only $131,275—and only after submitting a 50-page, itemized spreadsheet detailing everything they could remember. Their fight for fair compensation stretched on for years, ultimately resulting in payments totaling $850,000, still far short of the $1.1 million they spent replacing the property they lost.
A Louisiana Court Ruling: Insufficient Documentation = Denied Coverage
In the case of Albert Dunn et al. v. Allstate Insurance Co. (CASE NO. 2:22-CV-00980), a February 21, 2025, ruling by the U.S. District Court for Louisiana upheld Allstate’s denial of depreciation reimbursement, bad faith penalties, additional living expenses, and other damages.
• Mr. Dunn submitted a $280,652.46 personal property claim—but without supporting documentation.
• Allstate challenged the valuation and initiated an appraisal, which concluded the claim was $120,000 overstated.
• In the end, Allstate paid only $160,157.96, significantly less than what was originally sought.
These cases underscore a critical truth: Policyholders must prove their losses, and insurers will often exploit gaps in documentation to minimize payouts.
The Fallout in California: Insurers Push Back on Fair Payouts
After 16,000 homes and structures were destroyed in January wildfires across Los Angeles, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a February 6, 2025, notice urging insurers to pay 100% of personal property coverage limits without requiring itemized inventories.
Yet, many major insurers refused to comply, including:
❌ State Farm
❌ Allstate
❌ Liberty Mutual
❌ Travelers
❌ Cincinnati Insurance
❌ California FAIR Plan
State Farm, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual alone control 32% of California’s property insurance market. When combined with other insurers, the majority of policyholders in the state are left to prepare comprehensive inventories to receive fair payment for their losses.
What Policyholders Must Understand About Contents Claims
The harsh reality? Just submitting a list of lost or damaged items isn’t enough. Even detailed spreadsheets with estimated values are often dismissed as insufficient proof.
For total loss victims, recalling every item inside their home is emotionally and logistically overwhelming—yet insurers expect exhaustive documentation. Even many so-called “claims experts” fail their clients by not properly preparing contents claims resulting in underpayments.
How We Build Stronger Contents Claims at Eastern Public LLC
When handling contents claims for our clients, we take a forensic approach to documentation:
✅ Photo-Based Inventory: We gather as many pre-loss photos as possible, organize them by room, and extract individual items, hyperlinking them within our claim documents.
✅ Retailer & Financial Records: We cross-reference online purchase histories, bank statements, and credit card transactions to verify ownership.
✅ Logical Assumptions: Not every item can be documented—but we apply industry knowledge to infer likely property based on home size and lifestyle (e.g., garage tools, seasonal décor, kitchenware).
✅ Validation of High-Value Items: For items likely to be flagged by insurers, we source receipts, merchant records, or other third-party verification to support valuation.
✅ Market Research for Replacement Costs: Each item is researched individually to ensure we present accurate, defensible values for loss reimbursement.
This is just a fraction of what goes into a comprehensive personal property inventory. By leading this process, we relieve the burden on policyholders to ensure their settlements are paid fairly.
If you or your clients need expert guidance navigating a complex property claim, contact me:
📞 929.999.4674
Our Work
News & Press
