With the most recent California wildfire still going strong, the number of homes either damaged or destroyed continues to rise. If you’ve been affected by this tragedy, there are some things pertaining your home or property that you need to do in order to move forward.

The first step is reviewing your homeowner’s insurance policy. According to the California Department of Insurance, carriers received close to $12 billion in claims due to fires in the state in 2017.

So, given the tremendous impact that the wildfire damage has had on insurance carriers, many insurers are now pulling out of the business of covering this type of peril. With that in mind, if you plan to make a change to your homeowner’s coverage – or even if you opt to remain with your current carrier – be sure that you read all of the fine print in the policy (or proposed policy) to make sure that fire damage will in fact be covered.

If you reside in a higher risk area, there is a “last resort” option, the California FAIR Plan – which is a state sponsored program. Even so, though, if you aren’t adequately covered, you could end up paying much more money out-of-pocket if a future similar disaster should occur.

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