February 1, 2019 San Diego condo owner says insurance rate increased by 45%, blamed on the deadly Camp Fire A San Diego condo owner says his insurance rate increased by a whopping 45 percent. He says his insurance agent blamed it on the deadly Camp Fire, 600 miles away. “I was just kind of dumbfounded,” says condo owner Neal Dunn. That was his reaction…
January 30, 2019 United Policyholders on KCBS-AM Listen to the radio clip Transcript …on that front trying to get various insurance company to do the right thing we’ve been dragging into mediation and you know ready to go House in one case according to the consumer advocacy group United Policy holders two…
January 28, 2019 This Paradise Couple’s Home Survived — But Their Insurer Dropped Them, Anyway Not all homes in Paradise were destroyed by November’s deadly Camp Fire. Approximately 10 percent of buildings in the town of Paradise are still standing, according to a rough estimate from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But families who still have their…
January 18, 2019 NAIC Names 34 Insurance Consumer Representatives for 2019 The National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC) recently named 34 consumer liaison representatives for 2019. Established in 1992, the Consumer Liaison Program promotes consumer interaction with state insurance regulators at meetings and throughout the year. The 20 funded and 14 unfunded consumer representatives began their…
January 13, 2019 North Bay residents face new risk after wildfires: insurers dropping their homeowner policies Stacie and Jad Elkhoury avoided tragedy two years ago when flames from the Nuns wildfire stopped just short of their home southeast of Sonoma. The house did suffer some smoke damage to upholstery and rugs, for which they filed a claim with their insurance company,…
January 2, 2019 As wildfire risk increases in Colorado and the West, home insurance grows harder to find BOULDER — A few months after Chris Cook and his family moved from California into a four-bedroom house nestled among ponderosa pines in the foothills here, they received a letter saying their home insurance policy had been canceled. The insurer, Allstate, had concluded — after…
December 28, 2018 Government shutdown is delaying flood insurance needed for home sales Some 40,000 homes could be left “unsold” for each month the government shutdown lasts, according to the National Association of Realtors NAR). And in its latest monthly housing report, the NAR predicted “slower economic growth” if employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) remain…
December 26, 2018 Wildfire victim urges homeowners to check insurance policies Former Paradise, California, resident Barb West used to view insurance the way most homeowners do. “Who loses everything?” asked West, 64. Her husband, Roy West, is a building contractor, and she said that probably added to her false sense of security. “If a tree came…
December 17, 2018 California’s wildfire victims could be like most homeowners: underinsured As owners of the nearly 18,000 properties destroyed by California’s recent wildfires begin to file insurance claims, many of them will likely find they do not have enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding. Surveys from the research firm Marshall & Swift/Boeckh have found…
December 17, 2018 Insurance issues linger well after California North Coast wildfires are out As the North Bay welcomed 2018, it was clear to survivors of October 2017’s wildfires that much of the year would involve dealing with post-fires insurance claims, which reached $9.5 billion, according to state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. And after another season of historic fires…
December 13, 2018 Wildfires may soon be uninsurable risks for homeowners Homeowners in wildfire-prone areas of California and other Western states now have yet another worry: Insurers have issued an ominous warning that they could be facing a “wildfire deductible” in coming years or, even worse, the prospect of having their home insurance canceled altogether. The…
December 12, 2018 Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfire property losses reach $9 billion Insurance costs already rival last year’s nearly $12 billion in losses from wildfires This year’s wildfire season is already California’s deadliest and most destructive. On Wednesday, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said it is also among the costliest in private property losses with claims totaling…
December 12, 2018 Insurer goes bust from Camp Fire with millions in claims unpaid. How will it affect Paradise homeowners? Millions of dollars in potential losses from the Camp Fire have ruined a small Merced County insurance company, providing another element of uncertainty for homeowners following the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history. A judge declared Merced Property & Casualty Co. of Atwater…
December 6, 2018 As wildfires drive insurance premiums up, will homeowners be able to keep up? At first, Lucy Reynolds was unnerved by the non-renewal notice from the insurance company two years ago. Mortgaged homes must have coverage so Reynolds and her husband needed to find a replacement, quick. She was turned down by her neighbor’s carrier and an insurance agent…
November 30, 2018 Here’s How to Help California Fire Victims, Now and Years Into the Future Keep your old clothes. Give cash to groups that help survivors deal, heal, and rebuild. People send used clothes. Stuffed animals. Canned goods. A fine sentiment. But these things are just not very useful and require too much work to sort through and distribute. If…
November 27, 2018 How climate change is changing your insurance As victims of the California wildfires begin to think about rebuilding their homes, advocates and policymakers are warning that natural disasters, made more frequent and destructive because of climate change, could make home insurance unaffordable and force more Americans to rely on government insurance programs…
November 21, 2018 What to Know About Insurance If You Live in a Fire-Prone Area Your homeowners’ or renters’ insurance should cover the repairs. If you don’t yet have a policy, here’s what to do. The California Camp Fire has destroyed more than 12,000 homes as of Tuesday morning, and displaced more than 300,000 people. The damage will cost insurers…
November 20, 2018 How Wildfires Are Making Some California Homes Uninsurable California’s wildfires keep growing bigger, more frequent and more destructive. Of the 20 worst wildfires in state history, four were just last year, giving rise to a record $12.6 billion of insurance claims. It hasn’t gotten any better this year. The Mendocino Complex Fire in…
