(melancholic music)
- On January 7th during the Pacific Palisades fire,
our agency at SullivanCurtisMonroe
decided to call everybody in the affected areas.
It was hard to get a hold of some of the insureds,
but on January 8th, I was able to speak to Ms. O'Hara.
Because she had a flip phone,
I decided to stay on the phone with her
and call Travelers on three-way.
During that time, I helped her submit the claim.
- Our insured, Renie, had lost her home last year
in the Pacific Palisades fires.
The only thing still standing was the brick fireplace
and I think she escaped with just her Corvette
and her late husband's ashes.
- It's 2025 and she had a flip phone,
so it was very difficult for her
to make calls, to look anything up.
- The technology gap was very much a challenge
because the very first thing we want to do
is get some walking around money into their pockets
the quickest way possible, which is an electronic payment,
and unfortunately, Renie didn't have those capabilities.
We were able to work with Marcie
and get her set up with a new iPhone, a computer,
and a email address.
She wanted to show me photos of her home that she lost.
She wanted to talk to me about her late husband,
who did everything.
He handled everything and he's not here
to take care of this and she didn't know what to do
and really just needed someone to listen to her,
hear her story.
- She didn't have family,
so it was really hard for me not to help her.
I wanted to make sure she was okay.
And she was just extra special.
She told me stories.
Some days I would just listen to her with her stories,
which were great and amazing,
and other days it was trying to figure out
where to get her clothes.
I think it's what we do. We help people.
(melancholic music continues)
Renie has now been approved for all her permits
and she's ready to rebuild
and this is gonna be a big project for her.
- She just can't stop talking about how happy she is now,
and it's almost a complete polar opposite
of where she was a year ago.
It's incredibly rewarding.
It means the world when you get to truly help someone.
Just at the end of the day, it's what we're here for.
(melancholic music ends)