Online tool promotes transparency and accountability from criminal justice data
Online tool promotes transparency and accountability from criminal justice data

Coming soon to all East Baton Rouge residents, an online tool that will track what’s going on in your District Attorney’s office. Commons, a web system that logs all offenders and where they are in the criminal justice process, will give the public the same…
As Global Temperatures Set New Records, Policyholder Advocates Continue to Deny the Science
As Global Temperatures Set New Records, Policyholder Advocates Continue to Deny the Science

We learned this week that July 4’s average global temperature of 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit was the world’s hottest day since at least 1979, when the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction began keeping records, and potentially the hottest in about 125,000 years. And yet, in…
Live in Redding, Shasta County and lost your homeowners insurance? Here’s what to do next.
Live in Redding, Shasta County and lost your homeowners insurance? Here’s what to do next.

Some homeowners in Shasta County are scrambling to find insurance after being dropped by their carrier. In the wake of a decade’s worth of catastrophic wildfires that have cost lives and resulted in billions of dollars in property damage in the state, insurance companies are…
Climate peril, insurance, sand costs: No easy fix in Rodanthe
Climate peril, insurance, sand costs: No easy fix in Rodanthe

Even with the might of government, it can be difficult to force people to remove their houses that are at risk of falling into the ocean. More and more, it’s also proving to be difficult for homeowners to find property insurance that would adequately cover,…
Homeowners’ insurance costs are going up amid climate change. Here’s how to lower yours.
Homeowners’ insurance costs are going up amid climate change. Here’s how to lower yours.

Insuring a home isn’t as easy as it used to be. Allstate and State Farm are no longer providing coverage to new customers in California, citing rising costs and wildfire risks. And Farmers Insurance has stopped writing new homeowners policies in hurricane-prone Florida to “effectively…
Homeowners insurance cancellation problems get worse
Homeowners insurance cancellation problems get worse

Homeowners insurance cancelations are becoming all too common, and the competition is dwindling as well. Joe Pochron says he never had made a claim with GEICO, which sold him a bundle of policies including auto. GEICO farmed his homeowners policy out to an insurer named…
Community Foundation of Sarasota County awards nearly $1 million for Hurricane Ian recovery
Community Foundation of Sarasota County awards nearly $1 million for Hurricane Ian recovery

With a new hurricane season underway, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has awarded nearly $1 million to local nonprofits to address the ongoing impacts of Hurricane Ian, with another $720,000 reserved for long-term recovery efforts. Programs receiving support include hurricane survivor advocacy and case…
As Fire Season Approaches, CA Homeowners Face Insurance Woes
As Fire Season Approaches, CA Homeowners Face Insurance Woes

As major companies stop selling new policies in the Golden State, rates are rising sparking fears of an insurance market collapse. The recent decision by the California Department of Insurance to allow Allstate to raise insurance rates for California homeowners is adding to insurance woes…
UC ANR: How Can We Navigate Changes in the California Home Insurance Market Due to Wildfires?
UC ANR: How Can We Navigate Changes in the California Home Insurance Market Due to Wildfires?

A wildfire shockwave recently hit California. Maybe you missed it. While there were no large wildfires threatening homes, and the air wasn’t thick with smoke like in the Northeast from the wildfires in Canada, a shockwave did hit. State Farm, California’s largest home insurance company,…
Who’s fighting for lower insurance rates in Oklahoma?
Who’s fighting for lower insurance rates in Oklahoma?

News 4 received a lot of reactions to our story on the ever-growing home insurance prices in Oklahoma. One woman tweeted “we are planning to leave Oklahoma in the next couple of years.” The soaring prices have pushed some homeowners to the breaking point. Insurance…
Preparing your home for wildfire season? Here’s what you need to know
Preparing your home for wildfire season? Here’s what you need to know

As a relative newcomer to the North Bay, I’ll admit I didn’t know much about how to best protect my home from wildfires. But, experts tell me there are many misconceptions even among those who are more seasoned, informed and have lived through the trauma…
It’s getting harder and more expensive to insure your California home. What can you do?
It’s getting harder and more expensive to insure your California home. What can you do?

Consumer advocate shares homeowners insurance tips as wildfires make policies harder to get, more expensive Californians are finding it harder and more expensive to insure their homes in the wake of devastating wildfires across the state in recent years. Premiums are rising sharply, even with…
Why it’s becoming harder and more expensive to get homeowners insurance
Why it’s becoming harder and more expensive to get homeowners insurance

Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive and, in many places, more difficult to find. There’s no sign that the situation is going to get better any time soon. The culprits: climate change, rising costs to rebuild or make repairs and a sharp increase in the…
Homeowners in California and Florida are running out of options to protect their homes
Homeowners in California and Florida are running out of options to protect their homes

As big-name homeowners insurance companies pack up and leave, customers are forced to pay higher premiums for the few insurance options that remain. Droughts and wildfires. Floods and hurricanes. As the losses from these natural disasters skyrocket, a growing number of insurance companies are declining…
State Farm pause in home policies could involve more than wildfires
State Farm pause in home policies could involve more than wildfires

Reserves requirement may put financial pressure on insurer to slow growth There may be more to State Farm Insurance’s pullback from the California homeowners insurance market than wildfire risk. The Illinois-based company’s move may reflect other considerations, from applying political pressure to staying on the…
State Farm’s California freeze: Looming insurance apocalypse or political ploy?
State Farm’s California freeze: Looming insurance apocalypse or political ploy?

When State Farm announced in May that the company would stop writing new homeowners insurance policies in California, it issued a two-paragraph statement by way of explanation. It listed “historic increases in construction costs,” “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market” as the…
Four things California can do as home insurers retreat
Four things California can do as home insurers retreat

After State Farm declared in late May that it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later it was revealed that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians…
How to Get More Affordable Home Insurance as Costs Soar
How to Get More Affordable Home Insurance as Costs Soar

Weather-driven disasters are causing rates to skyrocket in high-risk regions. But there are things owners can do to save on costs. As the 2018 West Fire swept through Alpine, Calif., a small town in the foothills east of San Diego, firefighters were stationed in front…