What Defines a Constitutional Crisis?; California Insurer Gets $1 Billion Bailout After LA Fires
What Defines a Constitutional Crisis?; California Insurer Gets $1 Billion Bailout After LA Fires

0:08 — John Nichols, National Affairs Correspondent for the Nation on the numerous unfavorable court rulings enjoining the Trump Administration and the defining characteristics of a constitutional crisis 0:34 — Joel Laucher, insurance expert and Program Specialist at United Policyholders explains the $1 Billion assessment…
Updated CalFire map shows increase in ‘very high’ fire hazard acreage in Northern California
Updated CalFire map shows increase in ‘very high’ fire hazard acreage in Northern California

CalFire released a new map this week, expanding hazardous fire zones in Northern California. It’s part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order after the Los Angeles fires. Updated for the first time since 2007, CalFire’s new fire hazard severity zone map offers a resource in…
Insurers, Homeowners on the Hook for $1 Billion California FAIR Plan Bailout
Insurers, Homeowners on the Hook for $1 Billion California FAIR Plan Bailout

California insurance regulators have approved a request from the California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to get money from regular insurers to help pay customer claims from the Los Angeles Fires. The $1 billion will be collected from private insurance companies in…
After the Los Angeles Fires, Many Won’t Get Enough Insurance To Rebuild Their Homes
After the Los Angeles Fires, Many Won’t Get Enough Insurance To Rebuild Their Homes

Nobody likes to pay their monthly homeowners insurance premiums. Or at least, we haven’t met anyone who does. But the protection of an insurance policy is worth the annoyance. That is, provided it actually pays out enough. Unfortunately, however, amid the rise of skyrocketing insurance…
Climate-driven insurance crisis
Climate-driven insurance crisis

The climate crisis is costing us a lot of money — higher utility bills, higher health-care costs, skyrocketing housing prices in some areas and nosediving home property values in others. Climate change, as well as the pollution that causes it and the natural disasters caused…
Wildfire Survivors Get a Lifeline as California Pushes for Full Coverage Payments
Wildfire Survivors Get a Lifeline as California Pushes for Full Coverage Payments

California Insurance Commissioner Calls on Insurers to Ease Wildfire Survivors’ Burdens A Compassionate Plea for Full Coverage Without Detailed Inventories California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is taking a strong stance to support survivors of recent wildfires in Southern California. Recognizing the emotional and logistical toll…
Higher rates, few options for Calif. home insurance
Higher rates, few options for Calif. home insurance

Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a consumer advocacy group. Insurers pulled back from California after severe wildfires in … Read more
Inequity seen after wildfires in California
Inequity seen after wildfires in California

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
For most LA fire victims, insurance won’t cover rebuild
For most LA fire victims, insurance won’t cover rebuild

“we fully expect it to be higher than two-thirds underinsured in la,” said amy Bach, the cofounder of United Policyholders, a public interest advocacy … Read more
Major insurance company sparks outrage with decision that affects thousands of policies: ‘The opposite of what we’ve been hoping for’
Major insurance company sparks outrage with decision that affects thousands of policies: ‘The opposite of what we’ve been hoping for’

Increasing frequencies of wildfires are pushing insurance companies out of California. Liberty Mutual is one of the latest insurance groups to abandon insurance coverage for California residents, the North Bay Business Journal reported. What’s happening? In late December, Liberty Mutual announced plans to roll back…
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster

It’s one thing to fix your home after something basic has gone wrong, but it’s a different beast to rebuild and recover after a major natural disaster has destroyed multiple properties on your street, in your neighborhood or across the region. Don’t wait until you’re…
Plaintiffs Lawyers Swarm Los Angeles Post-Fires
Plaintiffs Lawyers Swarm Los Angeles Post-Fires

A deadly wildfire may be among the first covered by a new state fund that reimburses at-fault utility companies. This could mean billions of dollars for plaintiffs lawyers, and, if past fires are any indication, frustration and confusion for some victims. Read more.
Up to two thirds of homeowners underinsured for wildfires
Up to two thirds of homeowners underinsured for wildfires

Up to two thirds of homeowners are underinsured for wildfire losses, according to the consumer advocacy group, United Policyholders. Kristine Lazar speaks with an Altadena couple who lost their home and explains how you can make sure you’re covered.
The Agony of the List
The Agony of the List

The text notification woke Ashley Bryn Carter at 12:38 a.m., hours after the start of the most destructive wildfires in California history. She packed quickly, imagining she’d be back soon. But earlier that day, something had possessed her to go room by room and film…
State Farm Was All In on California—Until It Pulled the Plug Before the Fires
State Farm Was All In on California—Until It Pulled the Plug Before the Fires

Insurer aggressively grew in Los Angeles, despite getting overweight on fire risk, but decided to cut thousands of policies last year, adding to the state’s home-insurance crisis After the pandemic, most home insurers were fleeing wildfire-prone areas of California. But State Farm was there—and making…
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck

State Farm’s request for an emergency home insurance rate hike on Tuesday was one of many troubling signs for California’s home insurance market. Now, 7 on Your Side Investigates has data showing how traditional residential and fire policies are becoming out of reach for many…
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster

It’s one thing to fix your home after something basic has gone wrong, but it’s a different beast to rebuild and recover after a major natural disaster has destroyed multiple properties on your street, in your neighborhood or across the region. Don’t wait until you’re…