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(melancholic music)

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- On January 7th during
the Pacific Palisades fire,

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our agency at SullivanCurtisMonroe

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decided to call everybody
in the affected areas.

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It was hard to get a hold
of some of the insureds,

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but on January 8th, I was
able to speak to Ms. O'Hara.

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Because she had a flip phone,

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I decided to stay on the phone with her

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and call Travelers on three-way.

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During that time, I helped
her submit the claim.

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- Our insured, Renie, had
lost her home last year

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in the Pacific Palisades fires.

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The only thing still standing
was the brick fireplace

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and I think she escaped
with just her Corvette

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and her late husband's ashes.

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- It's 2025 and she had a flip phone,

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so it was very difficult for her

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to make calls, to look anything up.

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- The technology gap was
very much a challenge

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because the very first thing we want to do

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is get some walking around
money into their pockets

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the quickest way possible,
which is an electronic payment,

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and unfortunately, Renie
didn't have those capabilities.

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We were able to work with Marcie

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and get her set up with
a new iPhone, a computer,

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and a email address.

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She wanted to show me photos
of her home that she lost.

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She wanted to talk to me
about her late husband,

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who did everything.

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He handled everything and he's not here

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to take care of this and
she didn't know what to do

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and really just needed
someone to listen to her,

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hear her story.

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- She didn't have family,

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so it was really hard
for me not to help her.

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I wanted to make sure she was okay.

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And she was just extra special.

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She told me stories.

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Some days I would just listen
to her with her stories,

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which were great and amazing,

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and other days it was trying to figure out

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where to get her clothes.

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I think it's what we do. We help people.

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(melancholic music continues)

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Renie has now been approved
for all her permits

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and she's ready to rebuild

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and this is gonna be
a big project for her.

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- She just can't stop talking
about how happy she is now,

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and it's almost a complete polar opposite

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of where she was a year ago.

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It's incredibly rewarding.

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It means the world when you
get to truly help someone.

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Just at the end of the day,
it's what we're here for.

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(melancholic music ends)