Please Help The Washington Hotel!

Hey Washington Hotel fans – I’ve got a sad story to tell about fire insurance:

As many of you probably know by now, either firsthand or otherwise, this insurance crisis is really taking a toll on all of Nevada County and communities like ours all over CA. For 3+ years now people have been getting dropped from long-time policies and unable to get decent and affordable coverage.

While this letter is specifically about The Washington Hotel, this is everyone’s problem.

Friday, 12/16/22, I received my Renewal Notice from California FAIR Plan for The Hotel - they have raised our premium from $10,879 to $33,491, an increase of $22,612 and/or 308%. Our renewal date was 1/3/23, so I got less than 30 days notice. Although, CA FAIR claims they sent a (vague) notice back in September. The letter cites an inspection that happened in February 2022; seven months prior to them supposedly sending the letter. (I’ve copied the verbiage of the letter below.)

We can't afford the $33K+ premium, especially on such short notice. I have contacted CA Fair (so many times now), my broker, my SBA loan manager in an effort to find some sort of solution or compromise. No one has anything to offer other than their consolations. I’m also in ongoing contact with the CA Insurance Commissioner's office and have filed a Request For Assistance, which will take 3-5 weeks and may not change anything.

When my “regular” insurance company non-renewed in 2019, my annual premium was $4,659!

At this point I have reached out to MANY different insurance companies, brokers, agents and have only received denials. I’ve contacted other businesses in Washington and similar places like Sierra City to find out who their insurance carriers are, I’ve “Googled” insurance companies and reached out in the “Nevada County Fire Insurance Information” Facebook group... I will continue to shop diligently for any lower cost coverage. Additionally, I’ll continue to pursue “brush” mitigation of the hotel property, as well as the surrounding properties (within my power?!), now that I am aware of the CA Fair guidelines and how drastically they effect the premium.

I have reached out to Nevada County and other agencies to explore whether there are grants that may be available (from the state, county or other organizations) as the Hotel is a Registered Historical Landmark with the County. I will contact Representative Megan Dahle and Senator Brian Dahle with a full review of this experience as a small business owner in rural California. It’s so frustrating that government agencies on all levels and PG&E are the root cause of this issue but it's people like me/us who now bear this burden.

If I had received any more notice I would have done everything in my power to prepare. I could have been shopping for new coverage for 7+ months instead of scrambling last second. I could have raised prices and scrimped and saved and planned. I know I have to adjust our prices and budget to accommodate this insane increase going forward.

Some of you may know, but for those who don’t: Cameron and I manage all aspects of the bar, restaurant & hotel, we do all repairs and maintenance, bookkeeping, payroll, etc. We have to haul all our own trash, recycling and used cooking/fryer oil, as there are no services here. We have to drop off and pick-up all hotel laundry/linens regularly because again, no service will come down here. We also have to go and get ALL of our other supplies except beer/wine/liquor. That includes ALL restaurant food and supplies, all other bar supplies (straws, cups, lemons, limes, juices, etc) and all general supplies (cleaning products, toilet paper, office supplies, etc.) because…well you get the picture. In addition, we’ve recently taken back some bar shifts, all the swamping (bar janitorial) and all housekeeping for the hotel. This had to be done, but it does not feel good to have put some of our employees entirely out of work and reduce the schedule of others. This is all going to help in the long-run, but doesn’t pay the bill that was due on 1/3/23.

The Hotel is the “living room” of Little Town of Washington, it serves as the main gathering place for the community and has for over 165 years, it’s a registered Historical Landmark – it’s important to me, to so many of you, to our history. I don’t know what else to do besides ask for help. If you have any suggestions or leads for coverage, etc. I am totally open.

In the meantime, please consider making a donation toward our premium. If we receive over the amount requested or if I can obtain lower-cost coverage, any additional funds will go toward future insurance premiums.

I cannot express how much I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

BIG THANKS for sharing, donating, advice or even just the standard ol’ thoughts and prayers.

Much love to all of you!

You’re the reason we’ve made it this far – you’re the reason we’ll keep on.

Charity

Here’s the letter CA Fair supposedly sent me in September –

Please note that we do not own 400 feet in ANY direction from the Hotel, which is what they want for minimum clearance and they are calling the landscaped garden path TO THE RIVER “brush”. This is at major odds with both the state and country laws that only require/support 100 feet of clearance:

Dear Insured / Broker,

A brush/wildfire area inspection conducted on 2/8/2022 indicates there is a brush/wildfire exposure

within 400 feet of your property. The following is a description of the brush/wildfire area exposure, the

applicable brush/wildfire area rate and the annual additional premium that will be added at renewal.

Front: 60-99 feet, Back: 5-29 feet, Left: >=200 feet, and Right: >=200 feet (mixed forest)

Brush/Wildfire Area Rate: $1.28/$100

The California FAIR Plan requires a minimum clearance of 400 feet on all sides of the insured

structure(s) to avoid a brush/wildfire surcharge. If we are notified of clearance, a reinspection may be

ordered to confirm clearance.

I

California FAIR Plan Association