SOME VALLEY RESIDENTS STILL FEELING QUAKE IMPACT OWNERS STILL SEEK FUNDS 6 YEARS AFTER EARTHQUAKE.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Staff Writer

Since the Northridge Earthquake hit - six years ago today - Walter and Bobbie Morosco have had to camp behind their severely damaged home while battling with their insurance company.

Dorothy Wood, 79, is pursuing additions to her earthquake-related insurance claim while living out of boxes in her damaged home.

And Linda Allison has to sleep in her house without hot water, central heat and with rodent infestations, also because of contentious insurance negotiations.

While the quake is just a memory for most people, these three are among hundreds of area homeowners who six years after the Northridge temblor still reel from financial and deep emotional aftershocks as they battle with their insurance companies.

``I'm only a fraction of the person I used to be,'' said Allison, who is battling Allstate insurance for more than $749,000 for repairs on her Northridge home, guest house and workshop plus living expenses, and pain and suffering.

``I've lost custody of my kids over this, and I'm constantly putting out fires to hang on to a thread. I feel like I'm physically killing myself.''

Insurance carriers have paid out more than $12.5 billion in 630,000 claims related to the Northridge Earthquake, according to the California Department of Insurance.

Yet at least 475 cases remain open between Allstate and 20th Century Insurance, and there are certainly more out there among other companies, state officials said.

Allstate spokesman Peter Debreceny said the Moroscos and Allison are in the vast minority of Allstate insurance customers hit by the quake. Less than 1 percent of the company's 47,000 Northridge Earthquake cases remain open.

``We endeavor to understand what our claimants go through, and we learned some lessons after the quake,'' Debreceny said. ``We take pride in the work we did, and we've gotten as many folks back to normal life as possible. Our customers are our No. 1 concern.''

Such sentiments mean little to those with outstanding claims, however.

They consider themselves the ``walking wounded'' - prisoners of a war that has left them living like transients in homes still marred with foundation cracks, structural damage and leaky roofs - a breeding ground for termites and rats.

The Moroscos know that pain and suffering perhaps deeper than most. Their family life has remained in turmoil as their ``bad faith'' lawsuit against Allstate remains tied up in federal court.

``Allstate's bad faith tactics have placed us in the worst of dire circumstances,'' Walt Morosco said, breaking into tears recalling the death of his father in a nursing home because he wasn't able to care for him in the damaged house.

``That was our most grievous loss. Allstate has revoked our human rights, our liberty has been marginalized and our lives diminished so greatly that it has challenged our health,'' Morosco said.

LIFE INTERRUPTED 

The Moroscos' contentious lawsuit with Allstate has left them with no money to repair their Simi Valley home. The company paid them $118,000 initially to cover some repairs and living expenses, but when they discovered extensive asbestos contamination, Allstate repeatedly delayed examinations and challenged their claim, Morosco said.

He used $45,000 to have the carpet, walls and ceilings stripped to remove the asbestos. But the home still has no sinks, air conditioner, heater, plumbing or toilets, and structural damage still needs to be repaired.

They have no more money.

The result is a pending lawsuit seeking $2 million from the insurance behemoth. To date the case remains on its seventh continuance.

``I bought the best policy money could buy,'' Morosco said. ``But they are serving their own bottom lines regardless of any consideration toward ethics, morals, existing state laws and business codes.''

Debreceny said the Moroscos' case is among their company's 400 remaining open cases out of the original 47,000. Those cases have been tied up for a number of reasons, he said.

``It's an unfortunate truth that people have found additional damage, some have simply remained open and others just have not been able to reach agreements,'' Debreceny said. ``It's important to us to get these people back to normal.''

Attorney Carl Schiff, a volunteer with Community Assisted Recovery, which was established after the quake to help homeowners recoup losses, said the Moroscos' case is typical.

``The adjusters walked around and noted just $20,000 to $30,000 in cosmetic damage, and never told homeowners they should have engineers check. They never looked in the attic. They didn't look for damage,'' Schiff said.

``There are so many people out there who accepted their initial claim that have no idea of the underlying damage, what's going to happen in the next quake,'' Schiff said.

LIVING OUT OF BOXES

Wood was given living expenses from 20th Century Insurance and provided a contractor who she said performed $100,000 in repairs to her Woodland Hills home.

But in the months that followed she noticed her home was much hotter and colder than it used to be. Her roof was far inferior to the original. And she was having termite infestations caused by water running off the roof, seeping into foundation cracks and dampening the wood substructure.

She hired a private engineer who found severe damage to the structure, the attic, the foundation, and possibly even to the soil around her hillside home, Wood said. The 20th Century engineer did not find these problems, and Wood questions whether he even looked.

``He didn't even want to go under the house when he came,'' Wood said.

She has been pursuing additions to her original claim and hopes to receive about $300,000 more from 20th Century to sell the home and move on.

``I'm living out of boxes - I'm camping - in my own home because I can't unpack. Engineers would have a hard time finding the damage if I did,'' Wood said, adding that her possessions have been in storage almost six years. ``I just want them to pay me the damage that I've lost, then I want to sell and forget this house.''

20th Century Vice President of Corporate Relations Rick Hill said he did not know the specifics of Wood's case, but said there are about 50 cases including Wood's where they are reviewing the claims and negotiating additional damages. An additional 25 cases have remained in mediation or litigation and have not been settled.

``We relate to the pain these people are going through, but in many of them there are disagreements over the damage, and even the experts hired by us and the homeowner disagree,'' Hill said. ``We're going to resort to third party intervention if that's what is necessary. We're in the business of attracting customers, not avoiding them.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Linda Allison is battling her insurance company over Northridge Earthquake indemnification.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) JANUARY 17, 1994 (no caption) Rear view of 1951 Chevrolet flattened by collapsed apartment building.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(3) Dorothy Wood is leaving her furniture in storage until earthquake damage to her home is fixed.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(4) Walter and Bobbie Morosco have not lived in their home since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer