Following the San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906, many wealthy families abandoned the city, some never to return; Brisac chose to stay. Working from the basement of their damaged office building, he and others at LLG began processing insurance claims within days of the fire being put out. The Mayor of San Francisco had declared martial law and issued a shoot-to-kill order for looters. To speed the payouts that would allow families to keep their property, Brisac secured a pass from the Mayor and for weeks traversed San Francisco with a money belt and a pistol for self-protection while paying off claims.