When the wildfires destroyed my residence, I lost almost all of my personal possessions. Can anyone help me get replacement clothes and necessities? What about replacing my television, VCR, computer, etc.?

Yes, you should be able to replace personal property that was destroyed with insurance proceeds and/or grants or loans from several federal or state programs.

First, if you have homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance, the policies typically include provisions for the replacement of personal property, subject to various conditions and policy limitations. Additionally, if you were renting your primary residence, check to see if your landlord named you as an additional insured; if he or she did, you may be covered under the landlord’s policy.

Second, the SBA may provide a Personal Property Loan in an amount up to $40,000. That loan can be used to repair or replace personal property such as clothes, furniture, automobiles, consumer electronics, etc. However, the SBA loan cannot be used to replace luxury or extraordinarily expensive items, such as personal pleasure boats, airplanes, RVs, fur coats, etc. Further, property such as antiques or collections of rare goods that may have market values in excess of their functional value only are covered for the amount of their functional value. (For example, reimbursement for a collection of 4 rare quarters would be $1.00, not the price for which one might sell them at a coin show.) Click here for more information about SBA’s processes and procedures, including relevant deadlines.

Third, to the extent that your personal property losses exceed the amount of your insurance coverage and/or SBA loans, and assuming other conditions are met, FEMA sometimes will provide disaster victims with assistance in replacing furniture lost when their primary residence was destroyed. If you need such assistance, you will need to specifically request assistance for furniture costs and show that you have need. Click here for more information about FEMA’s processes and procedures.