Wildfire Insurance Claims: What Mike Learned Losing His House

By Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin, Dylan Koch · September 28, 2026

On August 1, a wildfire outside Spokane went from ignition to 3,000 acres in just under three hours. By the time Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch recorded on August 6, just under 900 homes had been lost, more than 60,000 people had been evacuated, and the fire was still burning. Mike's house was one of the damaged ones: the structure survived, but fire got inside and smoke destroyed nearly everything in it. Here's what he learned in the first week of the claims process.

What does a public adjuster do, and how do they get paid?

Mike says the adjuster the insurance company assigns you works for the insurance company, which he calls a built-in conflict of interest. A public adjuster holds the same license and training but works independently and represents the policyholder, and gets paid a percentage of what they recover.

Mike says the industry standard is roughly 10% and can sometimes be negotiated down. If someone shows up asking for 25%, don't listen to them. Like every other industry, he says, there are bad operators who will happily take advantage of someone in crisis. He hired one he already knew personally who came with a reputation from people he trusts.

The adjuster Mike is working with told him that on smaller claims, like a kitchen fire, recovery can be several hundred percent more than the carrier's initial offer, and that on Mike's total-interior loss he anticipates 200% to 300% more. Mike's framing: if the recovery is $400,000 instead of $200,000, paying the percentage still leaves him far ahead. He also notes the same approach applies to rentals and investment properties, not just a primary residence.

The tradeoff is time. His adjuster told him it may take two to three years to be made whole on contents because the carrier will fight nearly every line item. Mike would rather pay someone to absorb those years of back-and-forth than do it himself.

Two specifics worth knowing from the episode: Mike's adjuster told him documented water damage pushes a job to a full down-to-the-studs scope because it's treated as worse than smoke, and when Mike went back he found water spots across the high points of his ceilings from vapor created when the fire was sprayed. On contents, he says experienced adjusters know how to build the case for what your belongings were actually worth, rather than accepting the cheapest version of each item.

Actual cash value vs. replacement cost: what your policy actually promises

Dylan raised the distinction he knows from rental policies, and Dan spelled out the consequences. Actual cash value pays depreciated value. Dan's example: a 30-year roof that's 15 years old gets you, at best, about half of what a new roof costs. Ten-year-old carpet is valued the same way, and Dan says carriers use their own calculations you can't argue with.

Replacement cost is better, Dan says, but it rebuilds what you told the carrier you had when you wrote the policy. If you checked the cheap box and said your floors were carpet when 40% was tile, that's what gets approved. His point: people shop insurance on monthly cost and never consider it might not pay for what they need.

Mike's replacement cost coverage is about 25% higher than what the property is worth. Dan also noted a rebuild isn't a one-for-one recreation, since new energy codes took effect about two years after Mike's house was built, which affects permitting. And with roughly 900 homes to rebuild, Dan pointed out his own permit for a house he built took six to eight months.

Who gets paid first when a house is a total loss?

This was the wrinkle Dan wanted to share. Based on what a friend who lost a home was told, on a total loss the mortgage and other liens get paid out of the insurance proceeds first. Whatever is left is what you have to rebuild with, and you'd typically need a construction loan to do it.

Dan's warning is for anyone stacking debt on their primary residence. With a maxed-out HELOC behind a first mortgage, the proceeds pay off the lenders and you can end up with no house and little left to build with. He adds that someone who recently bought with a low down payment could be upside down at the moment of loss.

Mike tied it back to what the show has been pushing all year: staying liquid instead of fully leveraged. Both he and Dan said they know investors who would be in real trouble because they hold no cash reserves. Dylan's take: after some wins, actually take chips off the table for yourself and your family.

What should you do before a disaster?

Mike was blunt that no matter how prepared you think you are, you aren't. Neither he nor Dan was home when the fire came. Mike had been at brunch planning a pool day; Dan was at the lake in flip flops. Neither had a go bag. Here's what they landed on:

• Film everything in your house once a year. Dan does this. Mike had an urge to do it about a month before the fire and filmed his whole house.
• Actually put documents in the fire safe. Mike had one, but half the important paperwork was sitting out in his wife's office because they'd been finalizing travel that week. It's gone.
• Know your neighbors. Mike's neighbor broke in and got their dog out. At his old house, Mike says, he didn't know anyone and would have been out of luck.
• Call your carrier immediately and be proactive. Mike filed Sunday afternoon, then texted and left a voicemail for his assigned adjuster instead of waiting. She called him at 7:30 Monday morning and he was her first file of the day. His carrier sent $10,000 for immediate costs with no receipts required and no obligation to repay.
• Build a business that isn't location-dependent. Mike says because his team is spread out, including overseas, the company didn't skip a beat while he and Dan were both out of pocket.

Mike said he'll keep sharing what he learns as the claim progresses. For the full walkthrough, including the hour-by-hour of the evacuation and why fire damage runs so spotty from house to house, listen to the whole episode.

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