For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork

The wildfire survivor profiled in this Orange County Register article has been attending United Policyholders’ Roadmap to Recovery meetings and was pictured in our spring newsletter receiving her copy of the Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide. Readers mourned and complained when we ended…
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim

California’s burning, again; the flames north of Los Angeles, also known as the Station Fire, have already killed two people, and are threatening tens of thousands of homes, causing the governor to declare a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties. So of…
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina

OCEAN SPRINGS — It was just another in the rush of federal suits against Mississippi insurers last August, just before the three-year statute of limitations after Hurricane Katrina expired. Except it wasn’t. Without a lawyer, then-77-year-old Maralou Richards of Ocean Springs filed a handwritten complaint…
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire

Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire Survivors to receive an average $100,000 to $125,000 in Additional Coverage Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that the California Department of Insurance CDI) has…
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims

Just one third have rebuilt; one half submitted plans for reconstruction Two years after the 2007 firestorm, the path to recovery continues to be slow and arduous for hundreds of San Diego County residents who lost their homes. Only one-third have finished rebuilding. And nearly…
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help

SYLMAR – Oakridge resident Joanne Nadeau, who lost her mobile home in November’s Sayre Fire, can now rebuild thanks to additional money secured by the state’s Department of Insurance. Instead of getting $165,000 from her AIG insurance policy, Nadeau will receive nearly $300,000. “Now I…
Policyholders limited in how low they can go with contents coverage
Policyholders limited in how low they can go with contents coverage

Keith Brannon has been living a minimalist’s life since Hurricane Katrina. Like many New Orleanians, Brannon dragged the entire contents of his house to the curb when his Broadmoor-Fontainebleau area home flooded and moldered in the storm. He has replaced only the bare essentials. “We…
State Negotiates Deal for Sayre Fire Victims
State Negotiates Deal for Sayre Fire Victims

Mobile home owners whose properties were destroyed by the 2008 Sayre Fire and who were insured by AIG will receive as much as an extra $125,000 from their policy under an agreement announced today by the state insurance commissioner. The Sylmar-area fire destroyed 485 mobile…
Sylmar’s Sayre Fire Survivors Get Just Rewards from AIG
Sylmar’s Sayre Fire Survivors Get Just Rewards from AIG

Outstanding! The settlement reached this week by the California Department of Insurance and AIG provides additional insurance coverage to Sylmar wildfire survivors who lost their homes in the Oakridge Mobile Home Park last November. News reports say the CDI/AIG settlement amount is reportedly between $37…
UP named among 100 most useful money websites
UP named among 100 most useful money websites

Here are my favorite Internet destinations that deal with money. All are worth bookmarking. But I’d like your help in discovering other cool sites. I love stumbling across insanely useful new Web sites. I’ve highlighted some in my columns and blog posts, but there always…
Appeal would reveal claims denied
Appeal would reveal claims denied

A Coast policyholder is appealing to the state Supreme Court for access to Mississippi Insurance Department records that would show the dollar amount of Katrina claims denied by insurance companies. Long Beach policyholder Kevin Buckel filed a written request in January 2009 for records showing…
Post fire claim advice: After the fire comes the adjuster
Post fire claim advice: After the fire comes the adjuster

In July, when fire tore through the Northwest mansion belonging to local activist and arts patron Peggy Cooper Cafritz, it set off what is likely to be a long journey toward rebuilding. Facing total loss, Cafritz hired a public insurance adjuster to estimate the dollar…
California homeowners facing insurance rate hikes
California homeowners facing insurance rate hikes

In a state parched by a three-year drought, wildfires are at least partly to blame for the price increases, industry officials and even some consumer advocates agree. Reporting from Sacramento – As California heads into another season of wildfires that have been growing more frequent…
Most homes still underinsured for hurricanes
Most homes still underinsured for hurricanes

MSB, the leading provider of building cost data to the property insurance industry just released its findings for current estimates of homeowner insurance coverage across the United States MSB’s research reveals an estimated 64 percent of U.S. homes are undervalued for the purpose of insurance…
Make a human connection at your mortgage company
Make a human connection at your mortgage company

If your property has been damaged and you’ve filed an insurance claim, when your insurance company sends you a check to pay for the repairs, it will probably be made out to you and your mortgage company. You’ll need to negotiate with the mortgage company…
When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage
When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage

June 2009 When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage. In these tough economic times, we are all looking for ways to cut expenses. It’s tempting to reduce insurance costs by lowering or dropping coverage. Before you take this risky step,…
Short Cuts: The Peace of Mind of Home Insurance, Unless You Use It
Short Cuts: The Peace of Mind of Home Insurance, Unless You Use It

There is a saying among consumer advocates regarding homeowner’s insurance: “Use it and lose it.” It is not a phrase that insurance companies are particularly fond of. But it sums up how all too many people feel about their homeowner’s insurance: if you decide to…
What to look for in homeowners insurance
What to look for in homeowners insurance

NEW YORK CNN/Money) – Our homes are more than valuable assets. They’re safe havens, and protecting them with insurance is a must. How well you do that depends on the details of your policy. Here’s what to look for: Make sure you can rebuild The…