Wildfires, Property Insurance, and the Cost of Rebuilding Lives: Navigating the Legal Landscape
Wildfires, Property Insurance, and the Cost of Rebuilding Lives: Navigating the Legal Landscape

In recent years, wildfires have become an increasingly devastating force, scorching landscapes and upending lives across California, Oregon, and Washington. The Los Angeles wildfires, in particular, have left a haunting imprint: 28 lives lost, thousands of homes reduced to rubble, and untold economic and emotional…
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires

Two United States representatives from California proposed a new bill Jan. 16 that would reassess home insurance coverage in areas with high wildfire risk. The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act, reintroduced by Representatives Maxine Waters and Brad Sherman, would ask the Government Accountability Office to…
First Steps For Disaster Relief: A ‘Navigating Insurance’ Webinar
First Steps For Disaster Relief: A ‘Navigating Insurance’ Webinar

Please join California Western School of Law Professor Kenneth Klein, homeowners’ insurance expert, 2003 wildfire survivor, and Senior Advisor to United Policyholders, along with Amy Bach, Founder and President of United Policyholders, and Annie Barbour, 2017 wildfire survivor and United Policyholders Program Liaison. This webinar is…
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Los Angeles fire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…
Climate change is worsening the insurance crisis. Some states have solutions
Climate change is worsening the insurance crisis. Some states have solutions

The devastating Los Angeles fires have been a grim reminder of America’s homeowners insurance crisis as climate change intensifies potential property damage and insurers scramble to price rising risk. Consider: From 2000 to about 2013, insurance costs made up 7% to 8% of the typical…
Do you have enough insurance to rebuild after disaster? Experts say 2 types of coverage are key
Do you have enough insurance to rebuild after disaster? Experts say 2 types of coverage are key

Twelve-thousand homes, businesses and more were destroyed by the SoCal wildfires. Entire communities are now in ruins. Most people say they want to rebuild. They might have insurance, but is it going to be enough? “Over the years, three decades now and counting, two-thirds of…
How the fires will change CA’s insurance industry
How the fires will change CA’s insurance industry

From what to do if your home burned, to what to expect on your next insurance bill even if it didn’t, a consumer advocate answers urgent coverage questions. Credits Guest: Amy Bach – founder and executive director of United Policyholders Host: Madeleine Brand Producers: Sarah…
Some L.A. fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says
Some L.A. fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says

Some policyholders who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are not getting claims advances that are due to them, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alleged Thursday. In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered…
Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors
Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors

For Release: January 23, 2025 Media Calls Only: 916-492-3566 Email Inquiries: cdipress@insurance.ca.gov   Commissioner Lara orders insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims to speed recovery for wildfire survivors Bulletin includes additional actions insurers must take to aid policyholders’ LOS ANGELES — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo…
Some LA fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says
Some LA fire victims are not getting claims advances as required by law, state says

Some policyholders who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are not getting claims advances that are due to them, Insurance Commissioner Richard Lara alleged Thursday. In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered…
Why all California homeowners could be on the hook for LA County wildfire costs
Why all California homeowners could be on the hook for LA County wildfire costs

Insurance providers could charge policyholders a “supplemental fee” if the state’s insurer of last resort runs out of money. Once debris from the Los Angeles County wildfires is cleared and rebuilding begins, attention will likely shift to the financial health of a small, but growing…
Insurers’ values determine claims denials more than AI
Insurers’ values determine claims denials more than AI

Using AI to deny property and casualty insurance claims or settle them for less may not be clear cut, and could be done by analyzing other aspects of a claim, like the claimant’s personal finances. “From the advent of things like data mining, AI, risk…
L.A. Fires Revive Trauma For Homeowners Battling Insurance Claims
L.A. Fires Revive Trauma For Homeowners Battling Insurance Claims

Annie Compton had just put her two young daughters to bed when she heard pounding on the front door. “You gotta get out, you gotta get out now,” her neighbor said. Compton abandoned the lunches she was preparing for the next day, grabbed some documents…
Disaster prep: How to know if you’re underinsured
Disaster prep: How to know if you’re underinsured

The Los Angeles area wildfires have devastated entire communities and those who are planning to rebuild could be in for an unwelcome surprise, finding their insurance coverage isn’t enough to cover the full cost of their claim. It’s a widespread problem known as underinsurance and…
Climate change, extreme weather are driving up homeowners’ insurance rates in Chicago and beyond
Climate change, extreme weather are driving up homeowners’ insurance rates in Chicago and beyond

Allstate customers in Illinois could see their homeowners’ policies go up more than 14% in a few months. Allstate representatives said these increases in the Chicago area are not specifically related to the wildfires in California — a subject for which concerns about insurance claims…
Affected by the Wildfires in Southern California? You Might be Safe From Home Insurance Cancellations Through 2026
Affected by the Wildfires in Southern California? You Might be Safe From Home Insurance Cancellations Through 2026

The ongoing wildfires in Southern California have upended countless lives, devastating local communities, erasing cherished historical landmarks, and sending thousands of residents into shelters to await news on whether it’s safe to return home again—if their home even still exists. AccuWeather estimated that the damage…