The vast changes to wildfire coverage in Northern California and the growing challenges facing homeowners with regard to home hardening and rising insurance rates, will be just a couple of topics discussed at the upcoming Nevada County Community Forum on Friday, September 20. The guest speaker will be Phil Irwin, Public Relations Representative from the California FAIR Plan. This free, one hour event will be held on the Sierra College Nevada County campus from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 in the auditorium, room N-12. Cheryl Dell, former Publisher of the Sacramento Bee, will serve as moderator of this month’s Community Forum event.
“I’d like to hear what changes have taken place and what the future holds for the FAIR Plan and for us here in California,” said Dell. “It’s been a year since he (Irwin) was here last speaking with us, and we’ve had a few wildfire disasters in Northern California,” she said. Dell said that local real estate agent, Betsy Hamilton, will also be on hand to address questions on how the California FAIR Plan and wildfire insurance has impacted local property values.
The California FAIR Plan, first established in 1968, has grown to become the primary wildfire insurer for many Californians living in high risk fire areas, providing last resort insurance access for homeowners unable to obtain it from traditional insurance carriers. For those living in Nevada County, the California FAIR Plan currently insures more than $8 billion worth of real estate property.
Sponsored by the Sierra College Foundation’s Nevada County campus, the Community Forum hosts an hour-long, in-depth speaker series several times a year, discussing local issues and topics of interest to both our community and neighboring counties.
The next Community Forum is scheduled for Friday, October 18 and will focus on the topic “Preparing for Political Violence.” The guest speakers will be Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon and the Nevada County Clerk Recorder Natalie Adona. Each of these speakers series is free and open to the public.