In the wake of the 2003 southern California wildfires, we servedhundreds of families and insurance adjusters. The fires occurred inour community; our home office is located in San Diego. We hopethat through the communication of our observations, we all will bebetter prepared to assist families in handling large-scaledevastation.

At DMA Insurance Housing Assistants, our housing coordinatorswork with displaced families on a daily basis. While we are wellversed in attending to the details of relocating families, we donot profess to understand the individual feelings of each familymember. We have found that people react differently and it isimportant for us to be compassionate and empathetic, and tounderstand that everyone's situation is different.

This was especially true handling relocations at the time of thewildfires. A number of the families we worked with had lost notonly their residences, but loved ones as well. We knew that thebest way to make an impact was to facilitate the process of findinghousing for these families in order to help them resume somesemblance of normalcy in their lives.

Typically, in a non-catastrophe situation, families that losetheir homes to fires or other circumstances may have severalhousing options available, depending on the rental market. Whenhundreds of families are displaced at the same time, they findthemselves competing against their friends and neighbors for thesame rental properties.

This was especially true when the southern California wildfireshit. Rentals were becoming scarce, and many families were concernedabout what to do with their pets, having to settle for smallapartments, and so on. When searching for temporary housing innon-catastrophe situations, we urge families to look at theproperties as soon as possible. After a catastrophe, timing becomeseven more important.

On the other hand, some policyholders may not be ready to searchfor temporary housing right away. If they have other options, theymay want to consider waiting until the flurry of activity relatedto locating rentals calms down. Many of these families will be outof their dwellings for a year or even two. It is important thatthey choose a residence in which they will be comfortable livingfor that amount of time.

We field many questions from policyholders relating to theirpolicies and insurance companies. We defer to insurers to answerspecific questions about insureds' policies. Many of the familieswe work with are not familiar with the ins and outs of theirpolicies, and often do not know that their policies offeradditional living expense coverage. A reputable temporary housingcompany will recommend that policyholders ask these questions oftheir insurance adjusters.

Many intangible factors related to the rebuilding process canaffect the length of time that families are in temporary housing.Local municipalities may have long review times associated withissuing construction or building permits. Some families may not beready to initiate the rebuilding process immediately. It isimportant to remember that all of the families in a catastrophesituation are in need of answers to their questions, and guidancefrom their insurance companies, at the same time.

Whatever the circumstances, a temporary housing company can helpfamilies and adjusters by managing the costs and details of therelocation by negotiating appropriate lease terms and handling thecommunication of key dates (for example, when to give notice thatthe family is moving out) throughout the process. The use of such acompany has proven to be a valuable resource for both policyholdersand adjusters.

Jenna Henry is an area manager for DMA Insurance HousingAssistants.