Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%
Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%

Home insurance is about to get a whole lot more expensive for a lot of people in California. California’s Department of Insurance recently approved Allstate’s request for the largest rate increase the state has seen in the past three years. Homeowners’ insurance will go up…
Things are changing fast in the home insurance market
Things are changing fast in the home insurance market

In the weeks after Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the Southeast, the price to rebuild has become a contentious topic in the home insurance market. For years, home insurers have identified climate change as a threat, cut coverage and increased premiums for properties in disaster-prone…
Can a Home Insurer Drop You Due to Aerial Photos? Brace Yourself for It
Can a Home Insurer Drop You Due to Aerial Photos? Brace Yourself for It

Is your insurance company spying on you? Insurers are increasingly using technology such as drones, airplanes and even high-altitude balloons to survey homes from coast to coast. If these companies spot something they don’t like, you could lose homeowners insurance coverage. In late 2023, KGO-TV…
Why Insurance Rates for New York Property Owners Are Soaring
Why Insurance Rates for New York Property Owners Are Soaring

Logan Browne thought he already experienced sticker shock from his Bushwick condo building’s insurance rate tripling last year. Then, this summer, the insurance company dropped the building, citing a “loss ratio” that Browne, the condo board president, said related to water damage claims in 2020…
Amy Bach and United Policyholders Raise Issues About Insurance Executives Taking Monies Through Excessive Payouts
Amy Bach and United Policyholders Raise Issues About Insurance Executives Taking Monies Through Excessive Payouts

Amy Bach‘s recent LinkedIn post yesterday highlighting concerns about excessive compensation in the insurance industry has struck a chord with many policyholders and consumer advocates. Bach raised these issues in a panel discussion at the American Academy of Actuaries. Her observations are particularly pertinent to…
After hurricanes, the business of rebuilding lives means navigating the insurance claims process
After hurricanes, the business of rebuilding lives means navigating the insurance claims process

Now that the threat of Hurricanes Helene and Milton has receded, millions of homeowners and business-owners across Florida and the Southeastern U.S. are faced with traversing the often long and laborious process of using insurance to rebuild their lives. Immediately after disasters like these, property…
Why Insurance Rates for New York Property Owners Are Soaring
Why Insurance Rates for New York Property Owners Are Soaring

Policies are harder to find and costlier when they are available for homeowners who are struggling to stay above water. Logan Browne thought he already experienced sticker shock from his Bushwick condo building’s insurance rate tripling last year. Then, this summer, the insurance company dropped…
Navigating Insurance Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Navigating Insurance Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Insurance Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton: Quick Looks Understanding policies: Know your coverage limits, exclusions, and deductibles to determine if filing a claim is worthwhile. Documentation is key: Keep detailed records of damages, expenses, and interactions with adjusters to support your claim. Seek professional…
Homeowners hit by Hurricane Helene face the grim task of rebuilding without flood insurance
Homeowners hit by Hurricane Helene face the grim task of rebuilding without flood insurance

The Category 4 storm that first struck Florida’s Gulf Cost on September 26 has dumped trillions of gallons of water across several states, leaving a catastrophic trail of destruction that spans hundreds of miles inland A week after Hurricane Helene overwhelmed the Southeastern U.S., homeowners…
Hit by Disaster? How to Get What You Deserve From Insurers or FEMA
Hit by Disaster? How to Get What You Deserve From Insurers or FEMA

If your home was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene, the most daunting challenge may still be ahead: Getting your insurance company, or the federal government, to give you the money you’re entitled to receive. That process can be infuriating and baffling, and it comes…
Homeowners face threats to their property even after Hurricane Helene — how this disaster could cause insurance crisis for millions
Homeowners face threats to their property even after Hurricane Helene — how this disaster could cause insurance crisis for millions

“It’s a huge mess for everyone.” Even after it has subsided, Hurricane Helene continues to devastate homeowners throughout the Southeastern U.S. Beyond the billions of dollars in property damage and economic output, the record-breaking storm has further destabilized the insurance market. What’s happening? As The…
Hurricane Helene brought major damage, spotlighting lack of flood insurance
Hurricane Helene brought major damage, spotlighting lack of flood insurance

Kayla Ward was drinking coffee on her porch Friday afternoon when she noticed water from the nearby Nolichucky River rising fast. After nearly a year in the house in the Appalachian Mountains, Ward never thought to worry about flooding. But she and her husband had…
Hurricane Helene Recovery Help
Hurricane Helene Recovery Help

If you or someone you know have been impacted by Hurricane Helene, review our road-tested “First Steps” and visit our Hurricane Helene Roadmap to Recovery Help Library. United Policyholders is a non-profit organization that has thirty years of expertise in disaster recovery, insurance, repairs and…
Tips for Consumers to Get Fair Insurance Treatment After Hurricane Helene
Tips for Consumers to Get Fair Insurance Treatment After Hurricane Helene

Insurance Regulators Must Make Sure Consumers Are Fairly Treated, Claims Are Paid Promptly and In Full Washington, D.C. — Today the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and United Policyholders shared resources and tips to help consumers get their wind and flood insurance claims paid quickly,…
Think flood insurance is pricey now? Premium hikes were coming long before Hurricane Helene.
Think flood insurance is pricey now? Premium hikes were coming long before Hurricane Helene.

Homeowners insurance typically does not cover flood damage – though too many people discover that after the fact, consumer advocates say Hurricane Helene inundated parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, and now the estimated billions of dollars in damage are bringing Americans’ receding…
Homeowner says she needs new roof, insurer says no, just one shingle
Homeowner says she needs new roof, insurer says no, just one shingle

It started with Tropical Storm Debby back in August and more homeowners could find themselves in a similar situation after Helene. “My husband went through the house and came back and looked at me and said, ‘We got problems,’” Mary Barnes said. She says her…
New insurance insights from second series forum hosted by Center for California Real Estate
New insurance insights from second series forum hosted by Center for California Real Estate

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The California Dept. of Insurance and other industry leaders gathered last week to continue statewide conversations around insurance challenges at the forum, “Securing California’s Insurance Market: The Path Forward,” hosted by the Center for California Real Estate.…
State Farm forecasts decline in California policies over the next five years
State Farm forecasts decline in California policies over the next five years

The drop is expected to be around 1 million Insurer State Farm has stated that it was expecting to see the number of policies that it issues in California decline by 2 million by the year 2028, following the financial issues it was encountering, as…