September 18, 2015 Insuring your car for storm damage Category 5 coverage: Is your policy hurricane-proof? No one expects to have their car float away in 12 feet of floodwater and end up perched atop a tree, or pinned under a house. But there were a lot of those kinds of insurance claims filed…
September 18, 2015 Understanding Insurance Policies for Homes in Wildfire-Prone Areas The worst wildfire season in years is forcing many Californians from their homes and has caused the destruction of hundreds of houses, cars and other property. Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit group that assists consumers with insurance issues, urges homeowners who…
September 17, 2015 California reforms should ease fire victims’ insurance claims The hundreds of people whose homes were lost or damaged in devastating wildfires now ravaging California should have an easier time dealing with insurers, thanks to the Oakland hills fire of 24 years ago. Survivors of that fire and subsequent ones in Los Angeles and…
September 17, 2015 7 ON YOUR SIDE: WHAT FIRE VICTIMS SHOULD DO IF THEY HAVE INSURANCE LAKE COUNTY, Calif. KGO) — ABC7 News crews went to the Valley Fire evacuation center in Calistoga to offer assistance and 7 On Your Side’s Michael Finney was there to talk to insurance and business experts on how to get the help they need and…
September 16, 2015 Car Repairs From Deer Collisions Will Cost More The latest insurance data show that the risk of hitting a deer with your car has not changed much from a year ago. But the cost of repairing your car if you’re unlucky enough to strike one is on the rise. State Farm reports that…
September 16, 2015 Non-profit offers insurance advice to fire victims Those who have been left homeless by the Valley Fire will now start the arduous task of getting their homes and lives rebuilt. If your house burns down you can count on at least a year before you are back in your place and for…
September 14, 2015 Free app aims to help you prepare for a major disaster During disasters we are often reminded of the things we should do to prepare just in case. One of the most important things anyone of us can do is to make a list of everything we own and there are many apps out there that…
September 9, 2015 Homeowners in high fire-risk areas are upset over soaring insurance rates Soaring insurance rates may accomplish what the Telegraph fire failed to do: drive the Stoffan family from their home of 10 years. The Stoffans’ Northern California house survived the 2008 blaze, which destroyed 30 homes and 100 other structures as it charred 53 square miles…
September 8, 2015 3rd Circ. Set To Decide If Asbestos Exclusion Is Enforceable The Third Circuit is set to hear oral arguments Friday on whether a common exclusion for asbestos-related claims in a Travelers insurance policy is ambiguous and therefore unenforceable in a case that could have a broad impact on insurers’ liabilities for litigation over the toxic…
September 1, 2015 More than 50 Consumer, Civil Rights, Community Groups Call On Federal Insurance Office to Review Affordability of Auto Insurance in Low-Wealth Communities and Communities of Color Groups Say Basic Auto Insurance Should Not Cost More Than Two Percent of Income for Low- and Moderate-Income Americans. The Federal Insurance Office FIO) must establish a strong affordability standard for low- and moderate-income Americans, according to nearly 50 organizations from 23 states and DC…
August 30, 2015 Low credit scores raise home insurance rates If you fall behind on your credit card bills, should your punishment include a homeowners insurance bill up 43 percent? Yes, and it’s perfectly justified, says the insurance industry. Unfair, say consumer advocates. The insurance industry has long used credit scores as a factor in…
August 23, 2015 How much credit affects your home insurance rate may surprise you Credit is playing an increasingly important economic role in Americans’ lives these days, and according to a recent study, your credit history can be a major factor in what you pay for home insurance. For the second year in a row, a Quadrant Information Services…
August 20, 2015 A Disaster Damaged Your Home? How to File a Successful Insurance Claim The TV commercials make it look so easy: You experience a disaster and, like magic, your insurance company swoops in and solves all your problems. Unfortunately, say consumer advocates, it rarely works that way in real life. Instead, if a disaster such as a fire,…
August 17, 2015 Homeowners Insurance and Common Natural Disasters No matter where you live in the United States, there’s a good chance you’ll have to deal with one or more natural disasters or severe weather events. After all, every part of the country experiences at least one peril or another—in some cases, it’s hurricanes…
August 12, 2015 5 ways to cut medical bills long before you stick out your tongue and say “ah” Medical costs can still be confusing and startling. But as transparency becomes the norm, we should be able to get a price quote before undergoing a medical procedure, know the amount our health insurance will cover, and even solicit a package price from the hospital.…
August 11, 2015 Springs renter hopes flooding nightmare can become lesson for others Annaleen DeHaan came home to a nightmare Monday evening. Her home on the east side of Colorado Springs was devastated by floodwater. “My mom calls me and is like, ‘So, the house flooded. I have a foot of mud and water,’” DeHaan said. “I kind…
July 13, 2015 Insurance issues arising from disasters bring little regulatory change to Colorado The Colorado Division of Insurance, the regulatory agency charged with protecting consumers, has emerged from years of wildfires and floods with few tools to help it track market health in the state, and remains relatively powerless. Colorado residents are more or less where they were…
July 2, 2015 Insurance nightmare continues for Mountain Shadows family Three years after the Waldo Canyon Fire, many homeowners still struggle with their insurance claims. Paul and Jennifer Macomber have been at odds with their insurance company, American Family Insurance, since the fire started in June 2012. Their home in Mountain Shadows wasn’t a total…
