What You Need to File a Homeowners Insurance Claim
What You Need to File a Homeowners Insurance Claim

After the storm has cleared or the fire has died down, your sense of relief at surviving may quickly give way to a sense of shock when you gaze at the charred or battered wreckage that used to be your home and all the stuff…
How to Figure Out How Much Homeowners Insurance You Need
How to Figure Out How Much Homeowners Insurance You Need

One thing to keep in mind about homeowners insurance is that if you’re like most people, you probably don’t have enough coverage. “Whenever we do a survey in a disaster area, we generally find that two-thirds of the people whose homes are a total loss…
Check deductibles on homeowner insurance
Check deductibles on homeowner insurance

There’s nothing wrong with a high deductible, as long as you keep enough funds in savings to pay it. Like a spare tire or a flashlight, homeowner’s insurance is one of those things that you don’t really want until you need it. Now, even when…
State addresses insurance issues
State addresses insurance issues

Homeowners who have faced difficulty renewing home insurance policies can breathe a little easier for now. On Dec. 5, state insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one year moratorium on insurance companies not renewing policyholders, helping at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster areas…
Wall Street Could Make $1 Billion Off PG&E’s Bankruptcy – and Ratepayers Are on the Hook
Wall Street Could Make $1 Billion Off PG&E’s Bankruptcy – and Ratepayers Are on the Hook

PG&E’s bankruptcy is making some people very rich. Since the utility filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, lawyers and consultants have made a staggering $217 million. Big banks have netted $114 million in financing fees — and that number could top $1 billion by…
Do you know your home’s wildfire risk score? Your insurance company does
Do you know your home’s wildfire risk score? Your insurance company does

Do you know your wildfire risk score? Most people know they have credit scores that help determine whether they get a loan and what their interest rate will be. They probably don’t know that if they live in the West, they have a wildfire risk…
When Your Insurer Decides Your Home Isn’t Worth the Risk
When Your Insurer Decides Your Home Isn’t Worth the Risk

Homeowners living in areas prone to fire- and hurricane-related damage face another risk: getting dropped by their insurance company As if living through a string of deadly wildfires weren’t bad enough, some California homeowners were further burned when their insurers wouldn’t renew their fire-protection policies.…
State bans insurers from dropping policies in fire areas
State bans insurers from dropping policies in fire areas

Helping at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster areas in Northern and Southern California, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders Thursday. The action is the result of Senate Bill 824 in order to give temporary relief from…
California imposes non-renewal moratorium after wildfire crisis
California imposes non-renewal moratorium after wildfire crisis

California has issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders in a bid to provide temporary relief to residents hit by recent wildfires. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara believes the moratorium will help at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster areas in Northern and…
California stops insurance companies from dropping coverage due to wildfires — for now
California stops insurance companies from dropping coverage due to wildfires — for now

Ricardo Lara also called on companies to voluntarily stop sending non-renewal notices in other regions With an increasing number of California homeowners complaining about insurance companies dropping their fire coverage, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a moratorium on non-renewals in some areas, demanding…
The Observer: Moratorium issued on wildfire insurance cancellations
The Observer: Moratorium issued on wildfire insurance cancellations

Really good news regarding insurance companies cancelling homeowner policies in areas devastated by wildfires. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday, Dec. 5, issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders — helping at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster areas in California.…
State insurance chief bans insurers from dropping coverage of homeowners near Kincade fire
State insurance chief bans insurers from dropping coverage of homeowners near Kincade fire

The state insurance commissioner took a bold step Thursday to prevent property insurance companies from dropping a slew of homeowner customers, banning insurers for a year from canceling coverage for people residing in or near areas where the state’s 16 wildfires burned this year. It…
Wildfire insurance crisis leads commissioner to call for first-ever statewide non-renewal moratorium
Wildfire insurance crisis leads commissioner to call for first-ever statewide non-renewal moratorium

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders — helping at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster areas in Northern and Southern California, a news release states, but Nevada County residents will not be impacted by the…
Insuring the uninsured for wildfire risk
Insuring the uninsured for wildfire risk

OAKLAND, Calif. KGO) — Beginning on Thursday insurance companies doing business in California cannot cancel a homeowners policy in fire zone areas. The moratorium is good for one year. This action will help residents of more than 800 thousand homes in wildfire areas whose policies…
Insurance commissioner orders changes to FAIR Plan
Insurance commissioner orders changes to FAIR Plan

Plumas County homeowners may soon get some much needed home insurance relief. The Fair Access to Insurance Requirements FAIR) Plan, which is referred to as the home insurance plan of last resort, is quickly becoming the only resort for many California homeowners due to devastating…
How Climate Prediction Tech is Reshaping the Insurance Industry
How Climate Prediction Tech is Reshaping the Insurance Industry

Nevada County sits in the Sierra foothills in the heart of Gold Country. Narrow roads snake through towering old-growth pine trees and cedars. Cal Fire has designated the county seat, Nevada City, and nearby Grass Valley as “very high fire hazard severity zones.” Right in…
California to beef up backstop for those losing homeowners’ insurance in wildfire-prone areas
California to beef up backstop for those losing homeowners’ insurance in wildfire-prone areas

California regulators announced on Thursday new protections aimed at helping the growing number of people living in wildfire-prone areas who cannot find adequate homeowner’s insurance. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said that starting early next year his agency will significantly expand a state-created program that acts…
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?

Menendez legislation that would reform federal program may be voted on this week, but it faces uphill battle When Superstorm Sandy came ashore near Denise Vaccaro’s bayfront home in the Ocean County community of Forked River back in October of 2012, it was just the…