Experts have guidance on getting repairs, filing claims, avoiding scams after storm damage
Experts have guidance on getting repairs, filing claims, avoiding scams after storm damage

With severe damage seen throughout the Chicago area as storms brought tornadoes both Sunday and Monday night, experts had some advice on filing insurance claims, and avoiding scams. As of Tuesday evening, a total of five tornadoes had been confirmed in the Chicago area from…
Iowans Face Financial Risks: The Urgency Of Flood Insurance Coverage
Iowans Face Financial Risks: The Urgency Of Flood Insurance Coverage

As parts of the region begin their recovery, many homeowners find themselves without flood insurance, which isn’t typically covered by standard homeowners insurance policies. According to federal data, only about 26,500 flood insurance policies have been issued across Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota combined.…
Few have flood insurance to help recover from devastating Midwest storms
Few have flood insurance to help recover from devastating Midwest storms

Many Midwestern homeowners hit by bad flooding this week do not have flood insurance Rick Satterwhite’s house backs up to the Missouri River, but flood insurance hadn’t really seemed necessary – until this week, when he had to pump water out of his basement after…
As homeowner’s insurance prices climb, more Americans ask: Is it worth it?
As homeowner’s insurance prices climb, more Americans ask: Is it worth it?

It was 2019 when Anjali Tierra decided that homeowners insurance wasn’t worth the price. The retired high school teacher, 58, took out a policy in late 2018 after purchasing a three-bedroom home nestled in the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California. She considered the insurance affordable…
States beg insurers not to drop climate-threatened homes
States beg insurers not to drop climate-threatened homes

Property insurance companies say they’re taking losses amid escalating disasters. In the coming years, climate change could force Americans from their homes, not just by raising sea levels, worsening wildfires and causing floods — but also by putting insurance coverage out of reach. In places…
Illinois law leaves Chicago area homeowner with big repair bills after flooding that wasn’t her fault
Illinois law leaves Chicago area homeowner with big repair bills after flooding that wasn’t her fault

Many underground pipes that bring water into Illinois homes are getting old, which means more and more opportunities for the nightmare scenario faced by one Round Lake Beach homeowner. Things are more cozy at Marnia Chapai’s house, but it hasn’t felt like home in a…
Catch UP on Insurance for Repairing Flood Damage with David Maurstad
Catch UP on Insurance for Repairing Flood Damage with David Maurstad

In this Catch UP segment, Amy Bach talks to David Maurstad about Flood Insurance. David Maurstad is FEMA’s Assistant Administrator of Federal Insurance Directorate and Senior Executive of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation

By Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders So far 2024 has brought more bad news for property owners, public officials, lenders and home builders on the insurance availability and affordability fronts with non-renewals, scant options and high premiums. Front page news across the country. Rate…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…

If you own a home, we suggest putting “make risk reduction improvements” on your New Year’s resolution list. Taking steps to make it less likely that severe weather or a wildfire will damage your home is more important than ever. Insurers have added new coverage…
Buying a house? Want to know if it floods? It might be hard to find out.
Buying a house? Want to know if it floods? It might be hard to find out.

Two weeks after Pam Sidman and her family moved into their new condo in Brooklyn in September, New York City got historic, torrential rain. That morning, her wife, Kelly, looked out their bedroom window into the yard and noticed water backing up by their son’s…
Is the lack of flood insurance coverage the next coverage crisis for California?
Is the lack of flood insurance coverage the next coverage crisis for California?

Thousands of homes may be at risk of flooding, but few are covered against this type of catastrophe. Though we tend to think of wildfires as the main risk to property owners in California, climate change and a majority of homes without flood insurance could…
Could flooding fuel CA’s next insurance crisis? What data shows for thousands of Bay Area homes
Could flooding fuel CA’s next insurance crisis? What data shows for thousands of Bay Area homes

Climate change is predicted to drive increasing sea level rise across the country in the coming decades — and thousands of families in the Bay Area are unprepared for the flooding impacts. The ABC7 data journalism team analyzed data from the First Street Foundation, a…
Flooding and water resources for Southern California
Flooding and water resources for Southern California

Want to know what the flood risk is in your area or how to protect your home during a storm? Check out the resources below. Want to know what the flood risk is in your area? What about how to protect your home and family…
What New York homeowners and renters should know about flood insurance.
What New York homeowners and renters should know about flood insurance.

Standard homeowners’ and renters’ policies don’t cover damages that can be caused by the kind of heavy rains that hit New York City on Friday. It’s an unfortunate fact: Standard homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies don’t cover damages caused by flooding. People who live in…
What’s the RX for home insurance headaches?
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…
BACH TALK: Consumers need help (with shrinking property insurance affordability and availability)
BACH TALK: Consumers need help (with shrinking property insurance affordability and availability)

Americans today in hurricane, flood and wildfire prone regions (particularly in areas where there have been recent disasters) are paying much higher premiums and having a very hard time finding affordable property insurance options.  This is a national phenomenon that United Policyholders has been helping…
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,…