Insurance Whirlwind: From Naperville to Willow Springs, Homeowners Fight for Repairs A Year After Tornado
Insurance Whirlwind: From Naperville to Willow Springs, Homeowners Fight for Repairs A Year After Tornado

Nearly a year after a tornado ripped through Chicago suburbs, some homeowners tell NBC 5 they’re still in the eye of a storm with their insurance carriers over repairs. It has been a turbulent year for the residents of Chicago’s southwestern suburbs, as some homeowners…
‘We’re going to run out of cash’: 2017 North Bay fire victims’ trust administrator talks fund gap, public criticism
‘We’re going to run out of cash’: 2017 North Bay fire victims’ trust administrator talks fund gap, public criticism

The Fire Victim Trust has the systems in place to settle the financial claims of long-suffering victims of the 2017 North Bay firestorm and the 2018 Camp Fire by the end of the year — if it only had the money — the fund’s administrator…
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Make a Home Inventory
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Make a Home Inventory

Imagine that all your belongings are destroyed in a house fire. Thankfully, you have insurance. But to file a claim and get reimbursed, you have to make a list of everything you lost. How many of your belongings would you be able to remember? I…
Bars and restaurants lose COVID insurance decision at Wisconsin Supreme Court
Bars and restaurants lose COVID insurance decision at Wisconsin Supreme Court

Bars and restaurants that counted on business insurance to help cover major losses from 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns are out of luck, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has found. To the layperson, the forced closures due to the pandemic would seem to meet the definition of a…
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?

Your insurance company may be required to maintain your fire coverage if you live in a high-risk area in California — but the law that protects your home can be misinterpreted, as was the case for a Shasta Valley resident after she received a premature…
This woman’s insurer ended her policy after a wildfire, but a law still protected her.
This woman’s insurer ended her policy after a wildfire, but a law still protected her.

Hanne Rickers had been expecting the letter, but it was still awful to see it. The stuffy language of an insurance company belied the real consequences of the two-page notice: “Your property does not meet our wildfire eligibility guidelines,” Grange Insurance Association wrote to her…
California wants to force insurers to reward homeowners for fireproofing homes
California wants to force insurers to reward homeowners for fireproofing homes

When Ashley Raveche and her husband bought their home in Mill Valley, they thought they were doing everything right. The 1,300 square foot house already had vents with screens that make it harder for embers to get in and a tar and gravel roof, top-rated…
The dilemma of property insurance on the Hill
The dilemma of property insurance on the Hill

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) is rolling out new regulations mandating that insurers in the state offer discounts to policyholders who undertake fire hazard mitigation and structure “hardening.” The rules are intended to make decisions about rate and risk more transparent and more tuned…
Waiting On Wheels? Call Kurtis Investigates How Supply Chain Issues Are Impacting Car Repairs
Waiting On Wheels? Call Kurtis Investigates How Supply Chain Issues Are Impacting Car Repairs

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — After waiting five months to get a new gas tank, a Roseville viewer called Kurtis to investigate cars that aren’t getting fixed because of supply chain issues. Vicki Robinson was out to dinner in Roseville last November when a thief drilled a…
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…
California’s wildfire building codes make newer homes less likely to burn
California’s wildfire building codes make newer homes less likely to burn

In the mid-1980s, Jim and Ann Pesout fell in love with 10 acres of forest in Northern California’s Calaveras County. They bought the land and started building a house. “It took us two years. We physically pounded nails and built the house,” Ann said. “Our…
Report: Marshall Fire victims file lawsuit against Xcel Energy
Report: Marshall Fire victims file lawsuit against Xcel Energy

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – On Thursday, a class-action lawsuit filed against Xcel Energy in relation to the devastating wildfire that started this past December. Our sister station in Denver has a copy of that lawsuit which says Xcel Energy was negligent for not keeping…
Fighting to get a fair settlement of an insurance claim? A public adjuster can help
Fighting to get a fair settlement of an insurance claim? A public adjuster can help

Insurance policies protect your personal and business properties from financial loss. They help shield you from the economic risks associated with everything from floods, earthquakes, and wildfires to arson, theft, and vandalism. Insurance policies are legal agreements describing what losses are covered and at what…
Colorado Edition: New reservoir taking shape near Loveland; 2003 wildfire survivor helps others navigate insurance
Colorado Edition: New reservoir taking shape near Loveland; 2003 wildfire survivor helps others navigate insurance

Before it flows through your kitchen faucet, water in the Colorado River basin takes a long and winding journey. For a lot of homes on the northern Front Range, that journey will soon be getting another step. In the hills above Loveland, KUNC’s Alex Hager…
Marin fire officials welcome proposed state insurance rules
Marin fire officials welcome proposed state insurance rules

Marin fire officials are lauding expanded regulations for wildfire insurance aimed at improving safety standards and driving down the cost of coverage for homeowners and businesses. The new regulations, released Friday by the state Department of Insurance, incorporate the new “safer from wildfires” framework, a…
California’s “Safer from Wildfires” shows how to protect homes, get insurance discounts
California’s “Safer from Wildfires” shows how to protect homes, get insurance discounts

During a time when insurance companies have been canceling policies around the Lake Tahoe Basin and Sierra due to wildfire threats, a recent announcement by state regulators comes at a beneficial time. There is possible financial relief ahead for those living in wildfire areas of…
New regulations introduced to improve wildfire safety and drive down cost of insurance
New regulations introduced to improve wildfire safety and drive down cost of insurance

On Friday, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced new regulations intended to improve wildfire safety and drive down the cost of insurance for homeowners and businesses. Under the proposed regulations, which could be in effect by this summer, insurance companies would be required to factor consumers’…