Cover Your ASSets
Cover Your ASSets

As UP begins our 35th year(!) helping insurance consumers before and after disasters, we know that even the savviest people can find themselves underinsured after a loss…learning the hard way that you can’t blindly trust that your home insurance is current with the value of…
US homeowners face chronic underinsurance as LA wildfire losses mount
US homeowners face chronic underinsurance as LA wildfire losses mount

A year after the Los Angeles wildfires, many survivors still face the same hard math. Insurance payouts fall short of rebuilding costs. Homes stand gone. Coverage caps don’t stretch far enough. Multiple studies show many policies never promised full replacement, despite what policyholders often assume.…
The 16% Homeowner Trap: Why Major Insurers are Quietly Canceling 2026 Policies This Week
The 16% Homeowner Trap: Why Major Insurers are Quietly Canceling 2026 Policies This Week

If you’ve lived in your home for a decade without ever filing a claim, you might think your “renewal” notice is a formality. But this week, thousands of homeowners in states like California, Florida, and Texas are receiving a different kind of letter: a non-renewal…
California fire survivors got a rude surprise that could hit more Americans
California fire survivors got a rude surprise that could hit more Americans

A year after the Los Angeleswildfires, many survivors face the same problem: Their insurance policies aren’t paying out enough to cover the cost of rebuilding. It’s a tragic predicament. And it will happen again when the next disaster hits. Since the 1990s, American homes have…
5 serious disadvantages of putting your home in a living trust. Know the risks before making a move in 2026
5 serious disadvantages of putting your home in a living trust. Know the risks before making a move in 2026

If you’re looking to simplify the process of transferring your home to your heirs after you pass, you may have considered transferring it to a living trust. This is a maneuver some estate planners recommend in order to avoid the dreaded probate process. It’s an…
Homes that survived historic LA wildfires now face dangerous levels of toxic compounds
Homes that survived historic LA wildfires now face dangerous levels of toxic compounds

“DANGER: Lead Work Area” reads a sign on a front door of an Altadena home. “May damage fertility or the unborn child. Causes damage to the central nervous system.” Block after block there are reminders that contaminants still linger. House cleaners, hazardous waste workers and…
Top Property Insurance Trends To Watch In 2026
Top Property Insurance Trends To Watch In 2026

Homeowners insurance investigations, a novel climate suit accusing oil majors of contributing to high premiums, and a California action accusing carriers of collusion are some of the top property insurance matters attorneys will be watching next year. Read more.
New insurance laws: Will they help homeowners?
New insurance laws: Will they help homeowners?

What we know: As the struggle with cost, availability of policies with adequate coverage at a price that doesn’t break homeowners’ backs continues, there has been progress and movement, but insurers still maintain the upper hand. Perhaps the most important change for homeowners is that…
Nevada’s New Wildfire Law Signals a Shift in Property Insurance Risk Allocation
Nevada’s New Wildfire Law Signals a Shift in Property Insurance Risk Allocation

Beginning January 1, 2026, Nevada home insurers will be permitted to remove wildfire coverage from standard homeowners policies. The new law, passed by the Nevada Legislature this fall, clarifies that insurers have statutory authority to exclude wildfire losses while also allowing them to offer wildfire-only…
Nevada Law Lets Insurers Drop Wildfire Coverage; Is California Next?
Nevada Law Lets Insurers Drop Wildfire Coverage; Is California Next?

Starting January 1, 2026, a new law in Nevada will allow home insurers to exclude wildfire coverage from standard homeowners policies. Passed by the Nevada Legislature, this law will permit insurers to offer wildfire-only policies, marking a significant shift in how property insurance is handled…
Home insurance costs soar in North Bay
Home insurance costs soar in North Bay

Sonoma County’s median rate for home insurance premiums shot up more over the past decade than in any other part of the ninecounty Bay Area, while Lake and Mendocino counties, where wildfires have exacted a wider if not deeper toll, have seen rates climb even…
Court rejects bid to beef up policies issued by California’s home insurer of last resort
Court rejects bid to beef up policies issued by California’s home insurer of last resort

Retired nurse Nancy Reed has been through the ringer trying to get insurance for her home next to a San Diego County nature preserve. First, she was dropped by her longtime carrier and forced onto the state’s insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan,…
CA homeowner stuck with $50K bill after neighbor’s tree crashes into her house. Insurer denies claim, argues it was ‘unforeseeable.’ Is that legit?
CA homeowner stuck with $50K bill after neighbor’s tree crashes into her house. Insurer denies claim, argues it was ‘unforeseeable.’ Is that legit?

As extreme weather events become more frequent, homeowners are increasingly relying on property insurance as their last line of defense. But coverage can unravel quickly when an act of nature blurs legal boundaries. That’s what Castro Valley homeowner Angela Bereola recently discovered. Last year, heavy…
North Bay communities see some of the highest home insurance price increases
North Bay communities see some of the highest home insurance price increases

Premium costs in Lake and Mendocino counties have risen at more than double the state median rate over the last decade, new data shows. Read more
Policyholders Should Negotiate To Limit AI Exclusions At Renewal
Policyholders Should Negotiate To Limit AI Exclusions At Renewal

As renewal season approaches, policyholders should be on the lookout for broad artificial intelligence exclusions across all lines of coverage. In the last year, news of insurance companies inserting increasingly expansive AI exclusions has spread. Risks associated with AI are becoming increasingly widespread and sophisticated.…
Legislation introduced to extend national flood insurance program
Legislation introduced to extend national flood insurance program

Bipartisan legislation introduced this week in the House would automatically extend the National Flood Insurance Program. Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mike Ezell (R-MS) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), the legislation would ensure the National…
Reps. Carter, Ezell, Fields, Letlow, Fletcher, and Higgins Introduce the National Flood Insurance Program Automatic Extension Act of 2025
Reps. Carter, Ezell, Fields, Letlow, Fletcher, and Higgins Introduce the National Flood Insurance Program Automatic Extension Act of 2025

NFIP Lapses Aren’t a Partisan Problem – they’re a People Problem WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), alongside Reps. Julia Letlow (R-LA), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mike Ezell (R-MS), and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), introduced the National Flood Insurance Program Automatic Extension…
Where there’s smoke, there’s a fight
Where there’s smoke, there’s a fight

As the Los Angeles wild­fires died out in Janu­ary, fire­fight­ers trekked through the burn zones to take stock of the destruc­tion. For every home they found leveled, they coun­ted another still stand­ing. The struc­tures looked fine from the out­side, but ash and oily soot often…