The sun is shining and the snowpack is melting
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:…
Winter storm recovery and insurance: Baby, it’s cold…
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,…
Video: Why few California homeowners have flood insurance
Video: Why few California homeowners have flood insurance

Something doesn’t compute. Some 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow has fallen in California since Christmas. Yet, only about 2% of properties are covered against flooding, according to the Associated Press. Thats means only 230,000 homes and other buildings have flood insurance policies, which…
FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act
FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act

When disaster hits, FEMA can help communities recover under the Stafford Act (Disasterassistance.gov). If a Disaster Declaration is issued, it can be either a Emergency Declaration (to supplement state, local, and tribal government efforts to provide debris removal and emergency protective measures or to lessen/avert…
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today warned consumers to prepare to file claims for damage resulting from Hurricane Ida and offered tips on “how to get all you are entitled to from your insurance company.” CFA believes that Hurricane Ida will produce…
Flood insurance revamp aims for fairer rates
Flood insurance revamp aims for fairer rates

A revamped U.S. flood insurance program going into effect this month will charge rates the federal government says better reflect a home’s risk, a change that could mean higher premiums for coastal mansions and — for the first time — reduced rates for others. The…
Why doesn’t homeowners insurance cover flood damage?
Why doesn’t homeowners insurance cover flood damage?

The remnants of Hurricane Nicholas are drenching Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana — including areas that have barely started recovering from Hurricane Ida. ​There has been a lot of flooding over the past couple of weeks from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, and many homeowners…
This One Common Insurance Mistake Could Cost You Thousands, Experts Warn
This One Common Insurance Mistake Could Cost You Thousands, Experts Warn

REMEDY IT IMMEDIATELY TO KEEP THIS COSTLY ERROR FROM DRAINING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. Across the U.S., there have been snowstorms in May and heatwaves in November, making it clear that the weather is getting harder and harder to plan for. When unpredictable weather strikes, having insurance can help protect…
With Start of Hurricane Season, It’s Time to Consider Flood Insurance
With Start of Hurricane Season, It’s Time to Consider Flood Insurance

Most policies are issued by the government, which plans to change the way it prices its policies in the fall to better reflect climate risks. This year’s hurricane season began early, with a named storm forming before the official start on June 1, and it is expected…
Why You Should Consider Flood Insurance Even if You Don’t Live in a Flood Zone
Why You Should Consider Flood Insurance Even if You Don’t Live in a Flood Zone

Most homeowners who carry flood insurance have little choice in the matter; they live in a high-risk area where their mortgage lender requires coverage. But flood protection is worth a look even if your bank doesn’t demand you have it. The insurance industry sees the…
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?

Menendez legislation that would reform federal program may be voted on this week, but it faces uphill battle When Superstorm Sandy came ashore near Denise Vaccaro’s bayfront home in the Ocean County community of Forked River back in October of 2012, it was just the…
Options are few for storm-ravaged homes with insufficient insurance
Options are few for storm-ravaged homes with insufficient insurance

With the Atlantic hurricane season underway, homeowners should be aware that inadequate insurance coverage can make recovering from a bad situation even worse. Whether damage from a storm comes from wind or water, homeowners whose coverage is insufficient have discovered the hard way that it…
Your assets – Your flood risk?
Your assets – Your flood risk?

After insurers began excluding coverage for flood damage in the 1960’s, most people’s homes became unprotected for that risk. The federal government and the lending and insurance industries created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a requirement that homes with mortgages in high flood…
Government shutdown is delaying flood insurance needed for home sales
Government shutdown is delaying flood insurance needed for home sales

Some 40,000 homes could be left “unsold” for each month the government shutdown lasts, according to the National Association of Realtors NAR). And in its latest monthly housing report, the NAR predicted “slower economic growth” if employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) remain…
Hurricane Florence Aftermath: The Best Financial Options for Repairing Your Home
Hurricane Florence Aftermath: The Best Financial Options for Repairing Your Home

More than two weeks after Hurricane Florence’s devastating crawl across the Carolinas and Virginia, many homeowners are assessing the damage and beginning to make repairs. According to real estate data provider CoreLogic, the storm affected 624,000 homes, the vast majority unprotected by flood insurance. Standard…
UP to FEMA – Please extend Harvey and Irma deadlines
UP to FEMA – Please extend Harvey and Irma deadlines

On August 22, 2018, United Policyholders asked the top brass at FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program to give hurricane-impacted residents until the end of this year to fully document their 2017 Harvey and Irma damage claims and collect all flood insurance benefits owed…
Hurricane Season Has Begun. Do You Need Flood Insurance?
Hurricane Season Has Begun. Do You Need Flood Insurance?

New York Times – The Atlantic hurricane season is here, and with it the threat of storm-related flooding. So homeowners may want to buy flood insurance, if they don’t already have coverage. Hurricane season runs from June through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…
Post wildfire flooding and insurance? Forecast muddy
Post wildfire flooding and insurance? Forecast muddy

A wildfire destroys the trees, plants, bushes, and roots that hold soil in place and soak up rainwater, which in turn can lead to the kind of damage that occurred in Montecito in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire.  The “Fire-Flood Sequence” is a well-known phenomenon,…