NU Online News Service, Sept. 15, 3:42 p.m. EDT

Victims of the gas leak fire in San Bruno, Calif., are being warned by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to be on the lookout for scam artists and unlicensed public adjusters.

In the aftermath of last Thursday's deadly natural gas leak fire that claimed at least four lives and approximately 50 homes, the commissioner urged residents to beware of individuals who might try to take advantage of their situation.

"Scam artists routinely flock to disaster zones to take advantage of victims," the commissioner said. "I urge all San Bruno explosion victims to be alert for unlicensed public adjusters and other predators."

He urged residents to call the insurance department if they are the least suspicious about someone contacting them.

Among the common types of fraud he warned about are price-gouging, offers of debris removal, and fraudulent charitable solicitations.

Since the fire, questions have been raised about maintenance and safety precautions. Reports say the National Transportation Safety Board is wrapping up its on-site investigation of the crater where the gas pipeline exploded, blowing a 29-foot section of the 30-inch round pipe into the air and producing flames that shot-up 100 feet into the air.

Commenting on past pipeline explosion incidents, Marshall Nadel, managing director of Aon Global Power Specialty, noted in an e-mail that while it is not the case in the San Bruno explosion, "past history indicates that many natural gas distribution company piping accidents can be attributed to contractor negligence."

Other problems arise when contractors from other utility services do work around a pipe and damage it, he noted.

"When the damaged line ultimately does fail, it becomes very difficult if not impossible to trace the damage back to a specific source," he said.

Utility company liabilities "arising from such an event include relocation and temporary living expense," and could include costs associated with reimbursing municipalities for services such as fire department response, he said.

"We have noticed the trend that California utilities in general purchase relatively high limits of third-party liability coverage due to wildfire exposure, which can perhaps be attributed to downed electric transmission lines," according to Mr. Nadel. "Additionally, gas distribution utilities in metropolitan areas in general purchase relatively high limits compared to their peers due to potentially catastrophic gas line ruptures such as this one."

The utility in the latest incident--Pacific Gas and Energy--said it has $992 million in liability coverage and a $10 million deductible.

PG&E has set up a $100 million fund to help with the rebuilding effort, and has already donated $3 million to the city. The company said it will provide cash disbursements of up to $50,000 to households affected by the fire.