Sonoma County foundation gives $500,000 more for wildfire-recovery help with insurance, law
Sonoma County foundation gives $500,000 more for wildfire-recovery help with insurance, law

A Sonoma County nonprofit has announced nearly $500,000 in grants to two area organizations specifically to help victims of the October wildfires deal with the legal and insurance issues related to recovery. Community Foundation Sonoma County said the funding comes through its Sonoma County Resilience…
Insurance Tips Post-1/9 Debris Flow Montecito Residents Gather for Practical Advice
Insurance Tips Post-1/9 Debris Flow Montecito Residents Gather for Practical Advice

Sixty Montecito property owners who suffered losses during the Thomas Fire and 1/9 Debris Flow got practical advice from United Policyholders, a San Francisco–based nonprofit firm whose motto is “Empowering the Insured.” “You’re not the first community to have to go through something like this,”…
Insurance workshop aims to help those affected by recent disasters.
Insurance workshop aims to help those affected by recent disasters.

MONTECITO, Calif. – A non-profit organization is helping those who are affected by the Montecito mudflow and Thomas fire as they deal with a huge part of recovery. United Policy Holders hosted a workshop Tuesday night at the Montecito Union School. Its goal is to…
Hurricane Season Has Begun. Do You Need Flood Insurance?
Hurricane Season Has Begun. Do You Need Flood Insurance?

New York Times – The Atlantic hurricane season is here, and with it the threat of storm-related flooding. So homeowners may want to buy flood insurance, if they don’t already have coverage. Hurricane season runs from June through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…
California Supreme Court Finds Valid Insurance Coverage Claim Even If Employee Intentionally Caused Injury
California Supreme Court Finds Valid Insurance Coverage Claim Even If Employee Intentionally Caused Injury

The California Supreme Court has ruled that when a third party sues an employer for the negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of an employee who intentionally injured that third party, the suit can allege an “occurrence” under the employer’s commercial general liability insurance policy. The…
Rebuilding Sonoma County: Sonoma Valley grapples with slow recovery, big housing gap
Rebuilding Sonoma County: Sonoma Valley grapples with slow recovery, big housing gap

Ramona Nicholson was awake late on Oct. 8 listening to the wind blow. Upon hearing that fires had broken out in Napa, she drove from her Sonoma-area house, on the grounds of her family’s Nicholson Ranch Winery, over the hill to Old Sonoma Road to…
Interview: The Fire Rebuild Poll Recently Conducted by United Policyholders and What It Says About the State of the North Bay
Interview: The Fire Rebuild Poll Recently Conducted by United Policyholders and What It Says About the State of the North Bay

Executive director of United Policyholders, Amy Bach, details what was discovered in the Fire Rebuild Poll her organization recently conducted, what surprised her about the results, what homeowners are dealing with as far as getting insurance to pay, the percentage of people reporting that they…
Poll reveals what’s taking so long with Northern California wildfire rebuild
Poll reveals what’s taking so long with Northern California wildfire rebuild

Amy Bach started working as an advocate for insurance policyholders in 1984. She became an attorney in 1989 and co-founded United Policyholders in the aftermath of the Oakland Hills firestorm two years later. The San Francisco-based nonprofit has a network of over 200 volunteer lawyers,…
Legislation Proposed to Help Homeowners Who Are Underinsured in California
Legislation Proposed to Help Homeowners Who Are Underinsured in California

Two new bills will help prevent homeowners from being underinsured when disaster strikes. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones says the bills give consumers a better likelihood of being fully insured. The first bill is aimed at making sure that homeowners are given an updated replacement…
California Bills Inspired by 2017 Mudslides and Fires Clear Committee
California Bills Inspired by 2017 Mudslides and Fires Clear Committee

Two bills inspired by the 2017 mudslides and fires in California that are designed to help prevent homeowners from being underinsured when disaster strikes passed the Assembly Insurance Committee on Wednesday. The bills, sponsored by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, passed out of the committee…
Call Kurtis Investigates: Couple Calls Out Pricey Dental Work After Crowns Fall Out
Call Kurtis Investigates: Couple Calls Out Pricey Dental Work After Crowns Fall Out

ROSEVILLE CBS13) — Retired and on a fixed income, Victor Reyes needed work done on his teeth. Victor had dental insurance, but it didn’t cover the crowns he needed, so when the dental office gave him the option to pay cash up front for a…
Your insurance company knows more about you than Facebook
Your insurance company knows more about you than Facebook

Congress may have forced Mark Zuckerberg to reveal more about personal data gathered on Facebook FB). But consider this: Your insurance company likely knows a lot more about you. Insurers’ cache of private information includes credit reports, the market value of your home, age, marital…
Business groups urge high court hearing for Opry Mills flood dispute
Business groups urge high court hearing for Opry Mills flood dispute

Appeals court earlier this year slashed mall’s insurance payout by $150M Industry groups and prominent Tennessee businesses are urging the Tennessee Supreme Court to take up Opry Mills Mall owner Simon Property Group’s appeal of a lower court decision that cut its insurance payout for…
Many questions, resources at fire loss meeting
Many questions, resources at fire loss meeting

Welcome, everybody,” Susan Gorin said. “I’m sorry you’re here.” The county’s First District Supervisor addressed 30-plus residents who attended a town hall meeting at the Kenwood Depot on a chilly, rainy Thursday evening, April 11. Gorin had assembled county and private experts to talk about…
Transformed by October fires, Sonoma County takes stock, bracing for ‘a learning year’
Transformed by October fires, Sonoma County takes stock, bracing for ‘a learning year’

Two sisters. Two paths to recovery. Susan Komar and Lynn Van Fleit each lost a home last fall when the Tubbs fire ravaged northern Santa Rosa. Six months later, Komar and her husband, Chris, said they plan this year to start rebuilding their home in…
Homeowners struggle to rebuild six months after devastating wildfires
Homeowners struggle to rebuild six months after devastating wildfires

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Retired Air Force combat fighter pilot Scott Rooks and retired military medic Laney Wall lost their home in Santa Rosa to the firestorm. When they bought their home, 4 years ago, Rooks said he wanted more insurance than USAA, an insurance…
Editorial: The heartbreaking reason why many victims won’t rebuild
Editorial: The heartbreaking reason why many victims won’t rebuild

For many homeowners, the full extent of the devastation from the October fires is still unfolding — on their calculators. As Staff Writer Bill Swindell spelled out in his front-page story a week ago “Painful insurance reality,” Sunday), the number of people in Sonoma County…
Insurance shortfalls hamper Sonoma County fire victims’ ability to rebuild
Insurance shortfalls hamper Sonoma County fire victims’ ability to rebuild

Josh Nix thought he was doing everything right in August when he renewed the insurance policy for his Mark West area home just east of Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Nix answered the questions posed by his carrier, USAA, in an online form used…