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How do insurance companies determine the value of homes destroyed by wildfires?

Before people who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires can rebuild, they need money.  But how does an insurance company figure what a house is worth when there's nothing left standing?

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Nick Fountain produces and reports for Planet Money. Since he joined the team in 2015, he's reported stories on pears, black pepper, ice cream, chicken, and hot dogs (twice). Come to think of it, he reports on food a whole lot. But he's also driven the world's longest yard sale, uncovered the secretive group that controls international mail, and told the story of a crazy patent scheme that involved an acting Attorney General.