Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals
Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals

California’s insurance commissioner issued an order Wednesday that prevents companies from dropping nearly 210,000 homeowners in areas affected by wildfires this year, including most of Tuolumne County and southern Calaveras County due to the Washington Fire near downtown Sonora on Aug. 26. State Insurance Commissioner…
Wildfire victims asked to complete state survey on insurance
Wildfire victims asked to complete state survey on insurance

COLORADO, USA — Anyone whose home was impacted by wildfires in 2020 has their chance to complain about the insurance process. The United Policyholders is asking people impacted by last year’s fires to complete a survey on their experience with insurance. The confidential survey asks questions about…
Insurance Commissioner Lara Protects Additional California Wildfire Survivors from Insurance Non-Renewals
Insurance Commissioner Lara Protects Additional California Wildfire Survivors from Insurance Non-Renewals

November 10, 2021 – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today ordered insurance companies to preserve 209,881 residential property insurance policies held by wildfire survivors included in an October 22 emergency declaration, bringing the total statewide to 618,700 policyholders across 31 counties who have temporary protection from…
Insurers Say Data Shows Low Credit Scores Predict Risky Driver Behaviors
Insurers Say Data Shows Low Credit Scores Predict Risky Driver Behaviors

The insurance industry says it now has hard data proving that if you have a bad credit score, you’re more likely to slam on the brakes or step hard on the gas. Also if you’re less educated, unmarried, or sell real estate for a living.…
The changing climate is driving up home insurance claims, and rates
The changing climate is driving up home insurance claims, and rates

  As the changing climate makes extreme weather more common, more and more people are dealing with damage to their homes and property. That’s what insurance is for, right? People are certainly filing insurance claims. In 2020, nearly 40% of all insurance claims were for…
Finding (and keeping) fire insurance is headache for homeowners in California
Finding (and keeping) fire insurance is headache for homeowners in California

NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, about the thousands of homeowners in California at risk of losing insurance as the risk of wildfires grow. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: It’s said there’s no such thing as fire season in the West…
4 ways to fortify your finances against natural disaster
4 ways to fortify your finances against natural disaster

Along with preparing your home, having cash on hand, access to credit and the right insurance coverage are important in perilous times. Emergency preparedness experts recommend that you have a “go bag” and a “stay bin” for disasters: kits with supplies to help you survive…
What Every Homeowner Should Know About Trampolines
What Every Homeowner Should Know About Trampolines

Are your kids begging for a trampoline? You’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of backyard trampolines are sold in the U.S. every year, much to the delight of aspiring young acrobats across the country. But trampolines can also pose a risk to those young acrobats.…
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today warned consumers to prepare to file claims for damage resulting from Hurricane Ida and offered tips on “how to get all you are entitled to from your insurance company.” CFA believes that Hurricane Ida will produce…
Liz Weston: Fortify your finances against natural disaster
Liz Weston: Fortify your finances against natural disaster

Emergency preparedness experts recommend that you have a “go bag” and a “stay bin” for disasters: kits with supplies to help you survive a few days if you have to evacuate your home or shelter in place. Preparing your finances for natural disasters is also smart. Having…
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account

GRIZZLY FLATS (CBS13) – Does your lender pay your fire insurance premiums from an escrow account? Better double-check those payments are being made. A Grizzly Flats family who lost their home to the Caldor Fire learned their lender didn’t pay the fire insurance premiums after their…
Flood insurance revamp aims for fairer rates
Flood insurance revamp aims for fairer rates

A revamped U.S. flood insurance program going into effect this month will charge rates the federal government says better reflect a home’s risk, a change that could mean higher premiums for coastal mansions and — for the first time — reduced rates for others. The…
Call Kurtis: Lenders Fail To Pay Fair Plan Fire Insurance Policies
Call Kurtis: Lenders Fail To Pay Fair Plan Fire Insurance Policies

GRIZZLY FLATS (CBS13) — A military dad and his wife who lost their home to the Caldor Fire learned they weren’t insured and their lender didn’t pay their fire insurance bill. More fire victims are coming forward after our investigation saying the pair learned they…
Residents in high fire risk California zones cancelled, turned down by insurances
Residents in high fire risk California zones cancelled, turned down by insurances

Getting insurance has been a struggle for people residing in fire-risk areas, and for those who had got one were being priced out of their policies. Beth Quintana was among the residents who experienced the fire’s rage three years ago. In August 2018, the Holy…
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. – With fire season now just peaking and plenty of weeks still to go, we have already racked up California’s worst ever fire season. On a regular basis, homeowners in the urban wildland interface are getting multiple shocks from massive insurance increases, less…
Why doesn’t homeowners insurance cover flood damage?
Why doesn’t homeowners insurance cover flood damage?

The remnants of Hurricane Nicholas are drenching Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana — including areas that have barely started recovering from Hurricane Ida. ​There has been a lot of flooding over the past couple of weeks from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, and many homeowners…
Residents of Western States Face a Dry, Dangerous, Underinsured Future
Residents of Western States Face a Dry, Dangerous, Underinsured Future

As thousands lost everything, insurers have jacked up premiums—or fled altogether. When Steve Kress moved into an old ambulance he’d converted into a travel van some weeks ago, he’d started wearing a pin that reads “Since I gave up hope, I feel much better.” “It’s true…
The shrubs across the street nearly cost him his home insurance
The shrubs across the street nearly cost him his home insurance

It’s not yet common, but in high-risk fire neighborhoods, Berkeley Hills residents may find that keeping their home insurance depends on how well their neighbors prune their property. At the end of August, wildfire prevention advocate Dan Grassetti opened a letter from Allstate, his home’s…