Two-Thirds of Homeowners Underinsured for Wildfire Loss
Two-Thirds of Homeowners Underinsured for Wildfire Loss

Regulators, insurers & advocates work to close gap in wildfire loss coverage By:  ELIZABETH FESTA As wildfires continue to grow in size and expense while ravaging or threatening residential areas, insurers and policy advocates are warning that roughly two-thirds of homes  are underinsured. This means…
Small home fixes can have a big impact on safety
Small home fixes can have a big impact on safety

By Liz Weston of Nerdwallet | AP If it ain’t broke, maybe you should fix it anyway. That’s the message consumer advocates and insurance experts want you to hear about your home’s hidden dangers. Too often, they say, people put off relatively inexpensive repairs or improvements that could…
First Steps After a Tornado
First Steps After a Tornado

United Policyholders is a nonprofit organization that is a voice and an information resource for insurance consumers in all 50 states.  UP has helped guide disaster survivors on the road to recovery since 1991. Use this information with The Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory…
For people who lost homes in the Marshall Fire, insurance might not cover everything.
For people who lost homes in the Marshall Fire, insurance might not cover everything.

It could be months before many homeowners that lost everything in the Marshall Fire are able to even clean up the debris left by the blaze. In the meantime, many are already girding for battle with their insurance companies. Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway is…
Boulder County fire victims have insurance questions. Here are some answers.
Boulder County fire victims have insurance questions. Here are some answers.

Are you underinsured? (Possibly.) Should you wait for a master builder to redo the whole neighborhood? (No.) Can you get a living expenses check now? (Yes. Do it.) Meanwhile, all Colorado homeowners should do this tuneup. Insurance, when it works, is meant to be restorative.…
The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home
The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home

After a year of work, our WRAP working group issued a list of 13 home improvement steps that we believe should be the official standards for a wildfire prepared home. Here are the 13 recommendations from an array of experts in residential wildfire risk reduction.…
Homeowners impacted by 2020 wildfires asked to complete survey on insurance process
Homeowners impacted by 2020 wildfires asked to complete survey on insurance process

COLORADO, USA — Anyone whose home was impacted by wildfires in 2020 has their chance to complain about the insurance process. The United Policyholders is asking people impacted by last year’s fires to complete a survey on their experience with insurance. The confidential survey asks questions about…
Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals
Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals

California’s insurance commissioner issued an order Wednesday that prevents companies from dropping nearly 210,000 homeowners in areas affected by wildfires this year, including most of Tuolumne County and southern Calaveras County due to the Washington Fire near downtown Sonora on Aug. 26. State Insurance Commissioner…
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…
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account

GRIZZLY FLATS (CBS13) – Does your lender pay your fire insurance premiums from an escrow account? Better double-check those payments are being made. A Grizzly Flats family who lost their home to the Caldor Fire learned their lender didn’t pay the fire insurance premiums after their…
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…
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. – With fire season now just peaking and plenty of weeks still to go, we have already racked up California’s worst ever fire season. On a regular basis, homeowners in the urban wildland interface are getting multiple shocks from massive insurance increases, less…
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…
Residents of Western States Face a Dry, Dangerous, Underinsured Future
Residents of Western States Face a Dry, Dangerous, Underinsured Future

As thousands lost everything, insurers have jacked up premiums—or fled altogether. When Steve Kress moved into an old ambulance he’d converted into a travel van some weeks ago, he’d started wearing a pin that reads “Since I gave up hope, I feel much better.” “It’s true…
The shrubs across the street nearly cost him his home insurance
The shrubs across the street nearly cost him his home insurance

It’s not yet common, but in high-risk fire neighborhoods, Berkeley Hills residents may find that keeping their home insurance depends on how well their neighbors prune their property. At the end of August, wildfire prevention advocate Dan Grassetti opened a letter from Allstate, his home’s…
Consumers Who Understand Insurance Coverage Can Save Money and Reduce Debt After Disasters
Consumers Who Understand Insurance Coverage Can Save Money and Reduce Debt After Disasters

In a Nutshell: Insurance is an essential product for those who want to safeguard their property. But the process of understanding and purchasing policies and making claims can be difficult for the average person. United Policyholders provides information and other resources to ensure consumers understand insurance practices and…
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. – With fire season now just peaking and plenty of weeks still to go, we have already racked up California’s worst ever fire season. On a regular basis, homeowners in the urban wildland interface are getting multiple shocks from massive insurance…
Insurance companies increasingly drop homes throughout San Diego County as fire risks rise
Insurance companies increasingly drop homes throughout San Diego County as fire risks rise

The threat of wildfire is increasingly leading insurers to drop the policies of San Diego homeowners, a trend most prominent in the county’s rural areas but also affecting city neighborhoods from Scripps Ranch to Hillcrest. Seven out of 10 insured homes in San Diego County were located in ZIP…