15+ Things to Review Before You Say "Yes"
If you live in Pacific Palisades and your home was damaged or destroyed in a fire, your insurance company has probably given you a rebuild estimate or a series of estimates.
On paper, it looks official. In your gut, you may not be sure it's enough.
Before you sign a contract, accept a settlement, or start rebuilding around a number that feels off, it can help to take a structured look at what's inside that estimate.
This page is designed as an educational checklist you can use with:
Important: ClaimArchitect provides independent rebuild valuation and estimating services. We are not a public adjusting firm, law firm, or insurance company. We do not negotiate, adjust, or settle insurance claims, and we do not provide legal or tax advice. This checklist is for general educational purposes only. You should consult qualified professionals before making decisions about your specific claim.
Pacific Palisades has:
Generic estimating systems and quick post-disaster estimates can easily:
This checklist won't tell you what your insurer must pay. But it can help you have more focused conversations with your professionals about whether the number you've been given is in the right ballpark.
If the square footage is low, it can drag everything else down.
An estimate that assumes standard construction for a highly custom hillside property may miss major cost drivers.
If your home had high-end finishes and the estimate prices mid-range replacements, the number may not reflect what it would realistically cost to rebuild the home you had.
Ask your builder or other professionals: "Does this estimate reflect what it would actually take to work on this site?"
In many Palisades fire losses, demolition is complex, labor-intensive, and dependent on specific safety requirements.
Generic "good" or "standard" allowances may be far off for a high-end home.
Pacific Palisades homes often have large sliding glass systems, custom windows and doors, and high-performance or coastal-rated assemblies.
If your home had premium kitchens and baths, but the estimate prices basic replacements, the total may be significantly low.
Your builder and/or professionals can help you understand which code issues might come into play; the question here is whether the estimate accounts for them in a realistic way.
If the estimate treats a serious smoke event as a basic wipe-down, the scope may not reflect what's needed to make the home truly livable again.
Your professionals can help you understand what may or may not be covered under your policy, but from a cost perspective, ask whether these real-world costs have been included or left out entirely.
If your site or home clearly requires temporary measures and the estimate doesn't show them, that can be another signal that the total number may be too low.
Even if the scope is roughly right, outdated or generic pricing can drag the total down.
If the allowances are far below what similar Pacific Palisades projects actually cost, your budget may be tight from day one.
Once you've walked through this checklist with your professionals, you might decide you:
This is where ClaimArchitect fits in.
We don't tell your insurer what to pay. We don't handle your claim or give legal advice.
We focus on a narrower question: "Based on the information provided, what would it realistically cost to rebuild this home in today's market?"
Our role is to prepare an independent, builder-reviewed rebuild valuation that your chosen professionals can use (or not use) as they see fit.
For eligible Pacific Palisades fire and smoke damage cases, a ClaimArchitect valuation generally includes:
We stay in the valuation lane. Your team decides how to use the numbers.
ClaimArchitect provides independent rebuild valuation and estimating services. We are not a public adjusting firm, law firm, or insurance company. We do not negotiate, adjust, or settle insurance claims, and we do not provide legal or tax advice. You should consult a qualified attorney, licensed public adjuster, or other professional before making decisions about your specific claim, coverage, or legal rights.
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Go through your estimate with your builder and/or other advisors.
Circle areas where the scope or pricing seems light for a Pacific Palisades–level home.
Decide with your professionals whether you need: additional bids, a public adjuster or attorney, or an independent rebuild valuation.
If you want a detailed, builder-reviewed view of what it may really cost to rebuild your home, consider starting a ClaimArchitect valuation.
If this checklist confirms your estimate feels light, see our Pacific Palisades fire rebuild valuation overview.
If your limits still look tight after this review, read our Pacific Palisades fire rebuild coverage limits & underinsurance guide.
For help deciding which professionals to involve, start with our Pacific Palisades fire insurance claim help – who does what article.
If your Pacific Palisades fire rebuild estimate doesn't feel like it tells the whole story, you don't have to guess your way through the most expensive decision of your life.
An independent rebuild valuation won't replace your adjuster, public adjuster, or attorney—but it can give them better documentation to work with.