January 5, 2022 Guest Blog: First Steps for Recovering Written by Bob Hunnes, Originally published as a Letter to the Editor in the Daily Camera This letter is intended to help anyone who was directly impacted by the Marshall Fire disaster. If this is not pertinent to you, please pass it on to someone…
December 28, 2021 There’s no place like home This is Susan Davis’ first holiday back in her rebuilt home. Read Susan’s story in her own words: “In the months after we lost our home (we escaped with our dog and the clothes on our backs) and our way of life to the 2018…
December 21, 2021 When the chips are down, there’s UP Educating, Advocating and Empowering through the Pandemic Years UP continues to innovate during the pandemic to provide Roadmap to Recovery® services in person where safe, and through virtual channels to support disaster-impacted households and communities and be a powerful advocate for consumers across the nation.…
December 9, 2021 What’s UP? December 2021 BACH TALK A message from Co-Founder and Executive Director, Amy Bach Dear Friends, As another challenging year draws to an end, I could not be more proud of our accomplishments or more grateful to our donors and volunteers. In our 30th year of service, UP continues…
December 7, 2021 Bach Talk: 30 Years and Counting As another challenging year draws to an end, I could not be more proud of our accomplishments or more grateful to our donors and volunteers. In our 30th year of service, UP continues to score wins for consumers, help people solve financially crippling insurance problems…
December 7, 2021 The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home After a year of work, our WRAP working group issued a list of 13 home improvement steps that we believe should be the official standards for a wildfire prepared home. Here are the 13 recommendations from an array of experts in residential wildfire risk reduction.…
December 7, 2021 Virtual Roadmap to Recovery The shelter in place orders that required so many of us to get comfortable (maybe a little too comfortable) on Zoom enabled us to fine-tune our virtual service delivery and give insured loss victims uninterrupted access to the answers and information they need. Virtually, we…
December 1, 2021 Maienschein Recognizes Valerie Brown as the 77th Assembly District’s “Woman of the Year” RANCHO BERNARDO – Assemblymember Brian Maienschein proudly honored Valerie Brown as the 77th Assembly District’s 2021 Woman of the Year on Monday. A nearly twenty-year resident of Rancho Bernardo, Brown has served San Diego County as a volunteer with many community organizations and nonprofit organizations.…
November 23, 2021 Don’t be “Lapse-adaisical” Early in the digital age, insurers lobbied hard to be allowed to switch to paperless (digital) notices and billing. UP pushed back to protect consumers from inadvertently letting their insurance lapse due to missing a late payment or cancellation notice email that got stuck in a spam…
October 29, 2021 Spooky Language in Your Policy? Getting a notice from a home insurer that they’re dropping you is scary, and UP works hard to help people avoid and deal with that situation. Read our latest tips on shopping for affordable home insurance when your options are limited. Even scarier is hearing…
October 22, 2021 Thwarting insurers’ campaign to duck interruption compensation obligations to businesses Fill in the blank and you’ll understand the public relations campaign the insurance industry uses over and over to maintain record profits by shirking obligations to their premium-paying customers and pass the buck to taxpayers: “If you make us pay ______ claims we’ll go bankrupt.” …
October 19, 2021 UP shares our story for the 30th Anniversary of the Oakland / Berkeley Firestorm United Policyholders was founded in 1991. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Oakland Berkeley Firestorm, UP’s Executive Director Amy Bach shared her story co-founding the nonprofit for the North Hills Phoenix Association Community Comeback: Then and Now video series. This video series delved into…
October 1, 2021 Thank you for getting Up to Good On Friday, October 1st, wildfire survivors, public officials and generous businesses and individuals gathered outdoors at the elegant and historic Buena Vista Winery to raise funds for the our Roadmap to Recovery, Preparedness and Advocacy programs. With the jazz sounds of a Sonoma State student…
September 16, 2021 UP to Good 10/1/21 Join us for a coast-to-coast virtual party and benefit for United Policyholders ~ 10/1/21
August 6, 2021 Wildfire Evacuation Tips If you are told to evacuate immediately, do so. If you think you may have to evacuate, we suggest the following ASAP: 1) Document your home and “stuff.” If you do not have a home inventory, create one before you evacuate. Take pictures or a video of each…
June 25, 2021 Keeping Score to Avoid Paying More Your credit, insurance or risk score may make you “feel like a number”, but that may be more than a feeling. A low credit score will cause some insurers to offer you inferior coverage at a higher price. Because credit scores are often wrong and…
June 23, 2021 Restoring the Insurance Safetynet Coalition (RISC), A National Initiative The Restoring the Insurance Safety Net Coalition (RISC) is a national initiative launched by United Policyholders in 2020. The purpose of this initiative is to reverse the trend of insurance policy re-writes that are shrinking coverage for damage to homes. These re-writes are dangerously eroding…
June 14, 2021 Bach Talk – Oregon enacts pro-policyholder wildfire claim reforms We’re proud to report that UP recently helped enact H.B. 3272, a new Oregon law that will improve the flow of insurance funds for replacing wildfire-destroyed homes and property. UP has long advocated that on total loss claims where the homeowner did nothing to cause…
