September 29, 2023 Mitigation Matters No matter where you live, if you’re a homeowner today, you need to do your best to maintain your property and take steps to avoid it being damaged or destroyed in a severe weather event. Why? 1) No place on earth is immune from risk…
July 28, 2023 Rolling with the policy punches UPdated shopping tips Our guidance on shopping for property insurance has been focused on helping consumers select from competing options and avoid underinsuring their assets. For reasons we explained in last month’s tip, a growing number of people across the United States are now scrambling…
June 29, 2023 Wildfire Season is Here – Get Prepared! Summertime and the living is easy…except that wildfire season’s starting and the leading insurer just announced they’re not selling new policies in California. UP has been busier than ever getting useful tips out to residents of wildfire-vulnerable regions on reducing risk, being prepared and keeping…
June 29, 2023 What’s the RX for home insurance headaches? Rising home insurance prices and shrinking availability have made headlines across the nation in recent weeks, but the situation is not news to UP. It has been developing regionally for years, and we’ve been contributing to solutions through multiple advocacy and consumer help workstreams. The…
May 19, 2023 The sun is shining and the snowpack is melting Wow, that was a wet winter. Now that spring is here, snowpack is melting and hurricane season is right around the corner. Whether you’re a renter or a property owner, take a moment to consider adding flood insurance to your financial safety net. Bottom line:…
April 4, 2023 A Timely New Tool From a UP Partner Patient, informed shopping has never been more important than in today’s property insurance marketplace. Consumers face a triple threat: Protection gaps, deductibles and premiums are all sharply increasing. This is happening due to financial trends, insurtech, disasters linked to climate change and insurers’ strategies to…
February 28, 2023 Is Your Car Insurance Due for a Tune Up? Why pay for comprehensive coverage on your car? To save money, many people drop both comprehensive and collision coverage as their cars age. However, ask anyone whose car has been damaged or totaled in severe weather…If your auto policy includes comprehensive coverage, insurance kicks in.…
January 31, 2023 Winter storm recovery and insurance: Baby, it’s cold… Collecting insurance funds to pay for damage from heavy rains and localized flooding can be tricky. Insurers have been excluding floods in standard home policies since the 1960s, but the cost of repairing damage from water intrusion due to wind-driven rain, fallen trees, flying debris,…
December 23, 2022 Tis the Season to Get Prepared Need a last minute holiday gift? Give the people you love peace of mind by helping them be financially resilient and prepared. This Give Peace of Mind Gift Catalog is full of free tips to help spark important discussions and actions around disaster preparedness. Whether you are traveling…
November 29, 2022 Volunteering pays dividends… We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever and however you celebrated. This month’s tip is a message of gratitude for the many volunteers that help our nonprofit make a BIG, positive impact on people’s lives all across the nation, all year long. Our professional…
October 31, 2022 Scary insurance premiums…what to do? Home and business insurance premiums in hurricane and wildfire prone regions have jumped to scary levels…Those who can’t afford the increases are increasingly “going bare” if they own their homes outright. Those with mortgages are going deeper into debt to pay for mandated insurance. Bundling…
September 29, 2022 Avoiding post-loss scams Sad to say, there are opportunistic people who have refined the art of going into areas hit by disasters and peddling a range of scams. Knowing victims are vulnerable, stressed, and in need of repair and rebuilding help and good news, these people take advantage.…
August 24, 2022 Using Social Media Strategically Your insurance company likely uses social media to promote their feel good, “we’re here for you” brand. That’s their business strategy. But if your insurance claim is not moving forward and/or you are being treated unfairly – it does not feel good. You need your…
June 29, 2022 Breaking through indecision… When you’re under stress and need to make major decisions, it can be paralyzing. After Don and Lee Lehrman lost their home to a wildfire, they used a “forced-choice decision matrix” to decide how to replace it. You make a list of your wants, then…
May 6, 2022 Mind the Gap This is your friendly reminder that earthquake damage is NOT covered by your home or renters insurance policy unless you’ve paid extra for that protection. UP keeps tabs on earthquake insurance options and we recently moderated a National “Mind the Gap” Earthquake Insurance Forum in…
March 31, 2022 COVID: Year Two UPdate Have the conversation… As businesses across the nation learned the hard way when their pandemic interruption claims were summarily rejected by insurers…one can’t blindly trust paid-for property insurance to come through in the worst of times. Throughout the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began…
February 28, 2022 Insuring Your Life If you have dependents or people whose financial security is important to you, then life insurance is a logical investment. Buying a policy that suits your goals and budget isn’t hard if you find a salesperson who is knowledgeable and ethical and doesn’t try to steer you…
January 31, 2022 We get it…risk reduction isn’t easy Here’s a New Year’s resolution that doesn’t involve depriving yourself of something you like to eat or drink: Do at least one thing in 2022 to make it less likely that your home could be damaged or destroyed due to a weather event or natural…
