NU Online News Service, Sept. 15, 3:42 p.m.EDT

Victims of the gas leak fire in San Bruno, Calif., are beingwarned by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to be on the lookoutfor scam artists and unlicensed public adjusters.

In the aftermath of last Thursday's deadly natural gas leak firethat claimed at least four lives and approximately 50 homes, thecommissioner urged residents to beware of individuals who might tryto take advantage of their situation.

"Scam artists routinely flock to disaster zones to takeadvantage of victims," the commissioner said. "I urge all San Brunoexplosion victims to be alert for unlicensed public adjusters andother predators."

He urged residents to call the insurance department if they arethe least suspicious about someone contacting them.

Among the common types of fraud he warned about areprice-gouging, offers of debris removal, and fraudulent charitablesolicitations.

Since the fire, questions have been raised about maintenance andsafety precautions. Reports say the National Transportation SafetyBoard is wrapping up its on-site investigation of the crater wherethe gas pipeline exploded, blowing a 29-foot section of the 30-inchround pipe into the air and producing flames that shot-up 100 feetinto the air.

Commenting on past pipeline explosion incidents, Marshall Nadel,managing director of Aon Global Power Specialty, noted in an e-mailthat while it is not the case in the San Bruno explosion, "pasthistory indicates that many natural gas distribution company pipingaccidents can be attributed to contractor negligence."

Other problems arise when contractors from other utilityservices do work around a pipe and damage it, he noted.

"When the damaged line ultimately does fail, it becomes verydifficult if not impossible to trace the damage back to a specificsource," he said.

Utility company liabilities "arising from such an event includerelocation and temporary living expense," and could include costsassociated with reimbursing municipalities for services such asfire department response, he said.

"We have noticed the trend that California utilities in generalpurchase relatively high limits of third-party liability coveragedue to wildfire exposure, which can perhaps be attributed to downedelectric transmission lines," according to Mr. Nadel."Additionally, gas distribution utilities in metropolitan areas ingeneral purchase relatively high limits compared to their peers dueto potentially catastrophic gas line ruptures such as thisone."

The utility in the latest incident--Pacific Gas and Energy--saidit has $992 million in liability coverage and a $10 milliondeductible.

PG&E has set up a $100 million fund to help with therebuilding effort, and has already donated $3 million to the city.The company said it will provide cash disbursements of up to$50,000 to households affected by the fire.