'A mountain to climb': Family who lost Palisade home faces consequences

Frank Smiley, a longtime writer and producer on Conan O'Brien, lost his home in a Palisades fire on Tuesday.

Now, like thousands of victims of Los Angeles County's devastating fires, he's dealing with the complexities of billing his insurance company while also considering conflicting advice from friends, finding temporary housing for his family and considering whether to rebuild.

Smiley was working on Larchmont Avenue on the other side of town when the fire broke out, and he was unable to return to the 1940s cabin where he lived with his wife and two sons before the fire destroyed it.

Frank Smiley's 1940s cabin was nothing but ruins when the Palisades Fire tore through the neighborhood last week.

Wearing only the clothes on his back, he moved to Santa Monica to live with his brother, but his brother had to evacuate the next day and he moved to a hotel in Marina del Rey.

He had signed a lease for a two-bedroom duplex in Marina del Rey, which he learned about from a neighbor in the Palisades. He said several displaced families were temporarily moving into the same housing complex.

“We are united,” he said. “It’s great to support each other.”

Smiley declined to say how much he pays in monthly rent for the duplex, but said the price seemed fair.

“I don't know what it was like the day before the fire,” he said. “But everyone I talked to said, ‘Buy it at this price.’ It didn’t seem that exaggerated. I couldn’t wait — I had to get this apartment because I had to get my family back to normal as soon as possible. “

Although Smiley has resolved his short-term lodging issues, the insurance process was “totally daunting,” he said. The home he purchased in 2011 was insured by Mercury Insurance, and he has started making a claim.

“The idea of meeting with contractors, rebuilding, meeting with insurance adjusters,” he said. “I’m looking up at a mountain to climb.”

Smiley said he was torn about whether to hire an independent public adjuster to help him handle his claims. Public adjusters work on behalf of clients and can navigate the complexities of the insurance policy and negotiation process, often for a percentage of the final claim settlement.

“A really good friend of mine recommended this guy to me, and he seemed really nice, but then a business manager said, 'You don't need that, don't waste your money,'” Smiley said.

“So you hear all these different sides. You don't know whether to go it alone or hire an adjuster, but you don't know if they're legitimate or if they're just taking your money,” he continued. “That's the confusing thing, it drives me crazy. I don't know which way to turn, you know? It's a new world for me. You never think you're going to be in this situation, and Now you're stuck in this situation.”

The family will live in Marina del Rey for the next six months. Whether to rebuild on the Palisade is “still up in the air,” Smiley said.

“We're on the fence. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around it. It's too early,” he said. “I'm moving on with my life. I'm safe, my family is safe, and that's it.”