Lexi Ricci has spent more than 25 years in the Property & Casualty insurance industry and has been a consumer advocate from the start — just doing it from different seats at the table.
Over the course of her career, Lexi has served as a carrier adjuster, a licensed public adjuster, and now as Development & Program Specialist at United Policyholders (UP). Each stage of her professional journey has deepened her understanding of how the insurance system functions, where policyholders encounter obstacles, and how to create better outcomes through collaboration, education, and transparency.
She began her career with several of the nation’s most reputable insurance carriers — including SAFECO, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, and CSAA — handling complex, high-exposure property claims and developing a strong foundation in coverage interpretation, evaluation standards, and carrier operations. Lexi later joined The Greenspan Company, one of the largest and most respected public adjusting firms in the United States, where she represented homeowners and businesses on high-value residential and commercial losses across California and the Pacific Northwest.
At United Policyholders, Lexi draws on that dual-perspective experience to strengthen the bridge between consumers, professionals, and insurers. She manages UP’s professional sponsorship program, curates the organization’s Ask an Expert network, and supports disaster-affected policyholders nationwide. She also coordinates volunteer experts and develops educational resources and programs that empower consumers and elevate professional standards across the industry.
Having worked on both sides of the claims process, Lexi is recognized for her ability to translate complex insurance issues into clear, actionable guidance that helps homeowners and small-business owners navigate their claims with confidence.
A UC Davis graduate and Northern California native, Lexi now resides in Hood River, Oregon, where she continues to combine deep industry expertise with a lifelong commitment to fairness, education, and consumer advocacy.
We are senior citizens with two vehicles: a 2016 Chevy Silverado truck and a 2017 Chevy Equinox. We do not use the truck very often. I drive the Equinox to work, which is about 14 miles round trip, four days a week. We also use…
Hi, I am a renter who lost my home and business in the eaton fire in Altadena last year. I am looking for a professional cpa and/or financial advisor or both to help me strategize my recovery and ensure that my tax filing takes full…
Complete loss of house in Palisades Fire, I have CA Fair Plan insurance, they’ve paid all buckets except $20k plants, $25k debris removal, and $160k code upgrade. Since they must pay me these amounts whether i rebuild or buy a replacement property, why will they…
Our family lost multiple homes in the Eaton Fire. Many of the valuable items were one-of-a-kind (artwork, antiques, handcrafts) or uniquely valuable (signed first-edition books, etc.), so their worth cannot be easily determined by simply searching current retail prices. The anguish and exhaustion of the…
After the total loss of my home in the Eaton wildfire in January, I have retained a design-build firm, and our plans for the rebuild are with the permitting dept. now. But–this far into the game– I’m considering cancelling the rebuild plans. Can you point…
We are now on our 4th person assisting us with our claim. Our third adjuster is taking an extended time off (no dates given). They brought a person in to look after his files and submit items for review. He said that person should be…
I lead Firewise efforts for our community. Insurers require documentation of Firewise recognition for discounts, but lately the Firewise Certificate is often not enough. The incremental requests are inconsistent and vague. For instance, my own policy was placed in February and the California Fair Plan…
UP answered my previous question regarding the insurance’s estimate of 1,533 SF versus what we thought it was (1,850 SF) and what we should do. One suggestion was to find out how the insurance company determined their square footage. We have a 2-story house. They…
I lost my home in Palisades fire and have been renting an Airbnb in California ever since, but now I’m going to be relocating to Oregon to rent a room from a family member. I will be paying rent and I’m wondering if I can…
I have homeowner’s insurance through an Allstate subsidiary (North Light Specialty Insurance Co.). Our insurance renewal is now higher than our property taxes and has doubled in the past 5 years. I asked our agent what our wildfire risk score was and was told 76…
I have a CA Fair Plan Wildfire Risk Level 2 score of 7, while both of my neighbors on the same road have Level 2 scores of 3. Consequently, my calculated premium is nearly twice theirs. Property characteristics are identical to my neighbors’ as far…
I lost it all in the Palisades Fire. House was built in 1947. Is there a checklist, template, or other guideline about what new construction elements would or could qualify as “Ordinance or Law” elements? Specifically, a checklist, etc. for a home originally built in…
Our State Farm HOA Master Policy has taken over Coverage A of our State Farm Individual policy while we were about to settle our Coverage A claim. Nobody at State Farm can point us to policy language that allows the HOA Master Policy to assume…
We lost our home in the Eaton fire. We had CA Fair Plan and a DIC policy with Mercury. We would like to continue to have just liability coverage for the now vacant land until we decide to rebuild or sell. We are being told…
My house burned down in the Eaton fire and I have a replacement cost policy with my insurance company My Part A policy limits on the house that burned down add up to $2 million and my insurance company’s Xactimate RCV (replacement cost value) estimate…
After the Eaton wildfire, our house suffered smoke damage and has soot and ash residue on some of the surfaces. As we have yet to undergo testing to determine the level of contamination and to have remediation, should we still compile a comprehensive inventory of…
I have submitted a detailed list for one room in the form of a spreadsheet. My adjuster showed me how they will enter the list into their software. There seemed to be two methods — one a detailed pop up that allows you to drag…
Our insurer (State Farm) is offering a 50% advance payment of our Personal Property amount in exchange for us agreeing to providing a full inventory of the lost property and obtaining the property coverage within 36 months. What are the pros and cons of this…
How do we find out the person above the adjuster and on up? All e-mails are signed by the adjuster. I have no clue where to start.
My house was totally destroyed in the Palisades Fire. I have USAA as my insurance company. 1) Do insurance companies offering home owners insurance in California have to offer earthquake insurance through the CEA? 2) Can I have my insurance company remove my CEA coverage…
I recently requested a Fire Wise Community discount from CA Fair Plan. The discount was denied because CFP underwriting was “unable to verify” that the property was within the Fire Wise community. NFPA, in their web page stated that ” NFPA cannot make determinations about…
Can a home owner use Fair Rental Value to pay for temp house rent while the fire damaged house is being rebuilt?
I watched your webinar tonight on being underinsured. I am uncertain if my next step is to request information from the insurance commissioner or to first ask my agent for documentation on how they came to my coverage amount? And we have a public adjuster…
Hello – I am hoping for clarification. Under the CA state of emergency residential policies are to provide a minimum of 24 months ALE. Is this even if the policy states only 12 months of coverage?
Hello – we lost our main home and our ADU in the Palisades fire. They were both declared a total loss. We have separate policies for both the main house and the ADU We understand that if we choose to not rebuild, we can use…
I’m looking over our USAA homeowners policy and near the end there’s this a page that says “CA Replacement Cost Coverage – Personal Property” HO-728-CA (06-19). *Replacement Cost Coverage Defined…Under “Property Covered” it says… Personal property covered in Property We Cover – Personal Property Protection,…
If I get a scope of loss estimate from the insurance adjuster and then I get an independent estimate from a contractor a short time later that is “significantly” more than the insurance company’s estimate (let’s say 40-60% more), would that not be considered bad…
Hello, I am wondering if it’s a good idea to use the remediation company suggested by my insurance company (Farmers). Are there pitfalls for using remediation companies (or any company) referred by my insurance company? Also should insulation be replaced before house cleaning or after?…
We lost our family home of 55 years in the Eaton Fire. It was a total loss. Most of the furnishings are antiques, persian rugs, paintings etc. in a 2600 sq ft. house. My insurer wants to do a 2-3 hour interview with me to…
My home was directly impacted by the Eaton Fire, with neighboring houses completely destroyed. While my home did not sustain direct physical damage, char, soot, and ash permeated the interior. My insurance company engaged a third-party hygienist to assess contamination levels, specifically testing for soot,…
My Camarillo CA home was destroyed by the Mountain Fire on November 6, 2024. It has been over 12 weeks since my claim was filed and the insurance carrier has not provided any information on the proposed payout or settlement. I suspect that I may…
Can the mortgage company use the check(s) from insurance company, since they are co-recipients, to pay off my mortgage thereby forcing me to get a new loan at a much higher percent?
I had a couple questions regarding the process of submitting a check and requesting insurance proceeds to be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account (thank you so much for the sample letter template). We have received the check for Dwelling + Other Structures for the…
I have been given an ALE worksheet. I have added line items that I think will now be an issue due to being out of the house and out of the community and support system. Do I fill out a new ALE worksheet each month…
My claims adjustor has requested confirmation of cause of loss from the property manager where I rent. A Code Compliance Officer from the city of Pasadena has already certified the damage and informed the property manager to repair it. However, my insurance insists on obtaining…
We are in a position to be able to afford to pay off our mortgage with the Coverage C funds that we have received. Should we do so, to avoid having to deal with the mortgage company and a two-party check during the rebuild process?
My home is at the epicenter of the Eaton Fire. It is still standing but inundated with ash and smoke smell. I filed a claim with my insurance, Mercury. Now I am hearing they may not honor my claim because 10 years ago I placed…
Is it possible for you to provide data from the survey that shows which insurance companies paid 100% of personal property/contents parts of their policies? Also, is it possible for you to provide data from the survey that shows per insurance company, how many people…
I recently lost my home in the Eaton Fire and am realizing that I’m underinsured in my homeowners policy. My insurance company has just informed me that they are issuing checks for the policy limits on my claim in all categories, but we haven’t had…
Rental property owner in CA. Water damge due to upstairs bath running for three days. Insurance company is covering all damage to floors, walls, etc… City building inspector says we have to bring all 1930’s knob and tube electrical wiring up to code. Approx $30,000…
I received a non-renewal notice from Safeco 10 days ago. The notice claims the non-renewal is due to “mold/mildew/moss/algae” on the roof, which is totally not true as there is no such condition problem as described. I immediately tried to contact my Safeco agent (who…
Hi we lost everything in Palisades Fire, don’t have time to wait for rebuild, would like to purchase instead and take advantage of extended coverage (extra 25%.) I am confused by CA land value deduction code. If rebuild/buy insurance on dwelling was $1M, can we…
Our CA Fair Plan policy states the following in the Dwelling Property Policy document we received from them, specifically under the Coverage D – Fair Rental Value section: "Payment will be for the shortest time required to repair or replace that part of the Described…
Our house was a total loss in the fire and we are trying to piece together our policy. USAA has refused to provide us with ‘QR3(02) (07-08) QUICK REFERENCE-SPECIAL FORM,’ even though it was in the renewal declarations page that is active and it is…
What coverage is needed in addition to California Fair Plan? It looks like I am paying for some of the same coverages that I have with California Fair Plan fire with my Farmer’s Insurance Home owner policy. It’s costing over $700/mo. plus $8000+ per year…
I bought a car and I went through an automatic car wash. The car wash malfunctioned and totaled my car but I still had temp tags on it. Progressive is telling me they cannot pay out because I did not have the car registered? The…
I lost my home in the Mountain Fire in November 2024. I participated in a post disaster UP meeting in Camarillo and recall a representative say that the insurance companies are required to pay up to 40% of dwelling A. Maybe this was a FAIR…
Scenario: CA Wildfire, Federally Declared Disaster. Total Loss, house furnished at the time. The CA provisions require Insurers to make an initial payment toward Personal Property/Contents of the lesser of 30% of Coverage A/Dwelling or $250,000. We received $250,000. Our policy contains "Limited Replacement Cost"…
Insurance Code 10103.7.(b)(1) says: "if the residence was furnished at the time of the loss, the insurer shall offer a payment under the contents (personal property) coverage in an amount no less than 30 percent of the policy limit applicable to the covered dwelling structure,…
My home was destroyed in the recent Eaton Canyon wildfire in Southern California. I rented my house out six months ago and had not changed my policy from a homeowners policy to a landlord’s policy. Will my claim be denied? Can I get loss of…
My father was a resident at an assisted living facility that was destroyed by the Eaton fire on January 7, 2025. Because it is no longer standing, there is no one answering the phone or responding to emails. How do I find information on its…
My mortgage company paid my insurance late and my insurance was cancelled. Can the insurance company legally do this? What recourse do I have with either my insurance or mortgage company? Insurance is rather difficult to get right now in California. What can I do?
Please help! We filed an insurance claim for our roof. The insurance company listed the roof, siding and gutters as all needing to be replaced. However , they only gave us enough ACV money for the roof to be replaced. They only gave ACV because"it’s…
I was recently given a quote for a Farmers policy that is more expensive than our current Fair Plan/wraparound combo. I have thought about waiting until the term of our current Fair Plan expires and then checking the market, but given the current situation in…
We have been going back and forth with the Farmers adjuster in CA about the cost of repairs and cost of storage of our items for the duration of the house repairs. We have been going back and forth over the actual cost of repairs…
I will try to be concise and brief. I have very good renters insurance. I have a unique situation. I have been illegally locked out of my residence. I was able to gain access momentarily to the residence, and confirmed everything is gone. The property…
Hello, We were hit by hurricane Helene and had roof damage and our fence knocked down. We filed a claim with Allstate online and there was a section asking if we needed emergency tarp service, with the threat of another tropical storm on the horizon…
We were right in the eye of Beryl in July 2024. The inspector for the insurance company came out, looked at the roof, but never came into the house. We were told that we have wind and hail damage up there, I will submit the…
We are a family if 4 that lost our home in a fire 2 weeks ago due to conditions after Hurricane Helene hit western NC. We are now finding out what we had thought was good insurance is not so good. We are covered at…
Hello! After my 86-year-old parents lost their home in the Marshall Fire in Colorado, their insurance company agreed to a “lifestyle interview” to discuss their contents coverage. It was our understanding, that the “lifestyle interview” meant that they wouldn’t need to do a detailed inventory…
We have been given notice from Nationwide that our insurance will not be renewed in December 2024. I have secured a policy through the Fair Plan that is OK, however it is way more expensive and falls short on benefits that I’m used to. A…
Last week, May 30, my neighbor’s garage burst into flames spreading to my house. I lost everything including my boat. The fire department was very clear this started in neighbor’s garage. We both have Foremost. I’m worried I don’t have enough coverage. I can’t sleep.…
