Choosing the right homeowner’s insurance coverage
Choosing the right homeowner’s insurance coverage

When an emergency strikes and damages your home, knowing what’s covered in your homeowner’s insurance is essential in the recovery process. Homeowner’s insurance is crucial to owning a home, and recent changes in insurance costs and coverage might have homeowners wondering about their coverage. Homeowners…
‘I think that’s simply fraud’: California hearing probes solutions to underinsurance after Chronicle investigation
‘I think that’s simply fraud’: California hearing probes solutions to underinsurance after Chronicle investigation

In an impassioned hearing that extended well beyond its two-hour allotted time, builders, insurance experts and policyholder advocates testified to the California Board of Equalization about the harms of widespread and severe underinsurance among California wildfire survivors, after a Chronicle investigation that exposed the severity…
California approves 17% rate hike for State Farm homeowners insurance
California approves 17% rate hike for State Farm homeowners insurance

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is still there in California. However, homes in Golden State neighborhoods will see higher insurance bills. On May 13, State Farm was given the green light to raise homeowners insurance premiums by 17 percent. Renters and condo insurance were…
California home insurance rates to continue rising, experts warn
California home insurance rates to continue rising, experts warn

Home insurance prices in California will keep rising, say industry experts at a conference this week. Home insurance prices will continue rising. That was a message from industry experts this week, as they gathered to discuss the state’s insurance crisis. “It’s going to be a…
What to know: California approves State Farm’s emergency rate hike request
What to know: California approves State Farm’s emergency rate hike request

State Farm, California’s largest property insurer, won a first-of-its-kind emergency approval on Tuesday to quickly hike rates on more than a million homeowners and renters insurance policies. State Farm said it needs the emergency rate hike, by more than 15%, because the Los Angeles-area fires…
California approves State Farm’s request for 17% premium increase for homeowners
California approves State Farm’s request for 17% premium increase for homeowners

State Farm can soon start raising premiums by 17% for its California home insurance customers. State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved the rate hike Tuesday. California’s top insurance regulator said Tuesday that State Farm can soon start raising premiums by 17% for all of its…
What to Do if You’re Underinsured After a Wildfire
What to Do if You’re Underinsured After a Wildfire

After a wildfire, some homeowners experience a second shock when they open their policy and discover their insurance won’t cover the full cost to rebuild. If your policy limit is too low to restore your home, you’re considered underinsured, and it’s a problem that affects…
What is the state of California’s home insurance market?
What is the state of California’s home insurance market?

A panel of insurance and risk professionals convened in Sacramento last week to discuss the state of California’s homeowners insurance market. The event, hosted by the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE), focused on issues related to insurance availability, pricing and long-term risk mitigation. Panelists…
Think Your Homeowners Insurance Payout Is Too Low? Here’s How to Push Back
Think Your Homeowners Insurance Payout Is Too Low? Here’s How to Push Back

Many wildfire survivors in Los Angeles are running into the same frustrating pattern after filing their insurance claims. The payout falls short of what they need to rebuild, or the check might only cover part of the damage based on a computer-generated estimate that doesn’t…
California home insurance costs likely to continue rising for years to come, says expert panel
California home insurance costs likely to continue rising for years to come, says expert panel

Leading housing insurance experts gathered in Sacramento last week for a panel discussion around the state’s home insurance crisis hosted by the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE). Among key insights shared by panelists, Stanford University Climate & Energy Policy Director Michael Wara predicted California’s…
L.A. fire survivors accuse State Farm of delaying claims. Should it get OK for a rate hike?
L.A. fire survivors accuse State Farm of delaying claims. Should it get OK for a rate hike?

Rossana Valverde’s Pasadena home of 35 years is still standing after Los Angeles County’s devastating January fires — but more than 100 days later, she and her husband still can’t move back in. That’s because they’re waiting for their insurer, State Farm, to approve and…
Insurance ‘re-underwriting’ is on the rise in California. Here’s how I fought State Farm and won
Insurance ‘re-underwriting’ is on the rise in California. Here’s how I fought State Farm and won

State Farm, my home insurer for the past 25 years, recently wrote to enumerate several “positive measures that should be taken to reduce the risk for loss.” That sounded positive enough — until I read that if my husband and I didn’t comply, including installing…
Colorado proposes FAIR Plan surcharge for home policyholders
Colorado proposes FAIR Plan surcharge for home policyholders

The Colorado Division of Insurance is considering regulation that would allow insurers to pass on their costs to support the state’s new FAIR Plan, homeowners insurance of last resort, to policyholders through a surcharge. Read more.
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling

Insurance coverage for wildfire debris damage will remain limited under California law after the state’s high court denied requests to depublish an appeals court ruling favoring insurers. Consumer and policyholder groups filed their requests to depublish just days after a California insurance regulator issued a…
Residents whose homes survived the wildfires are facing issues with their insurance claims
Residents whose homes survived the wildfires are facing issues with their insurance claims

People whose homes survived the deadly Eaton and Palisades fires are considered the lucky ones while they are surrounded by neighbors who lost everything. Those residents worry their homes may never be safe to live in again. Some very dangerous materials burned in the fires,…
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis

Fire and insurance experts convened on Tuesday to help California take a step toward solving its insurance issues with big data. “We are here to try to tackle a crisis.,” said panelist Amy Bach, who heads the nonprofit advocacy group United Policyholders in San Francisco.…
Ensure you’re not underinsured
Ensure you’re not underinsured

As someone who’s worked in the insurance industry in one way or another his entire career, nothing brings me more sadness than to see people who’ve experienced catastrophic loss. Loss of that magnitude is devastating, so I speak so much on preparing for it in…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades fire on television, when a neighbor knocked on the door. He wanted them to see it: flames in the mountains in nearby Eaton Canyon. Within…