#18 -2003 United Policy Holders, Marshall Fire, Natural Disasters, and the disaster of dealing with insurance.

August 28, 2023

Amy Bach, Executive director of United Policy Holders and Lisa Hughes Marshall Fire Survivor and Marshall Fire Local Liaison for United Policy Holders are my guests on this buildCAST. We discuss the impact of fire specifically, but natural disaster and the destruction of home, its impacts on people and the insurance nightmare that they face. United Policy Holders has stepped into this space to advocate for survivors of natural disaster events, and specifically help them navigate the insurance maze one must trek through to recovery and become whole again.

We need to be prepared, and plan ahead as it appears not to be if another natural disaster will hit, but when. In this light I think everyone should hear what Amy and Lisa have to say.

Listen Now on Spotify

Amy Bach on LinkedIn

Lisa Hughes on LinkedIn

United Policy Holders

Wildfire Prepared Homes

Wildfire Partners Boulder County

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Our expectations of the performance of houses has changes faster than how we build to achieve that performance. So, at the beginning of a conversation in the construction industry, when I hear, “I have been building for 30 year” I think to myself, there are only two outcomes from this conversation. First, the person is putting up a guard and will not be receptive to an applied building science approach. You know, houses have to breath or your telling me to tighten up the house and then pouch a hole in it for ventilation. On the other hand, the person may have amazing insights and experiences to share.

When I step back, I realize that I’ve almost been working in this industry for 30 years. With an emphasis on sustainable High-performance building I still struggle to integrate what I do into mainstream building, yet I tend to learn something new everyday that takes me one step closer. Having these difficult yet enlightening conversation is often were I learn the most.

At BuildTank, our mission is to use what we learn by applying building science in the field to affect meaningful change in the construction industry. This BUILDcast is the next step. By having broad conversations with the players in the industry we will learn something new from their story that will move us forward toward taking sustainable buildings to mainstream building.