July 17, 2018 Do you have enough homeowner insurance? Here’s how to find out Three of every five homes in America are underinsured by an average of 20 percent less than full value, according to analytics firm CoreLogic. Is yours one of them? Could you easily put your hands on $50,000 to help rebuild a house with a $250,000…
July 11, 2018 Foundation announces $470,000 in grants to nonprofits supporting those impacted by fires This week, Community Foundation Sonoma County CFSC) announced grants to help people impacted by the fires who are struggling with insurance claims, legal issues and securing the resources they need to recover. These grants are funded through Community Foundation’s Sonoma County Resilience Fund, which was…
July 9, 2018 Impact of Court Ruling Chubb Unit’s Crime Policy Covers ‘Spoofed’ Wire Transfer In a closely-watched case on insurance coverage in an age of expanding cyber risk, a federal appeals court in New York has upheld a lower court ruling that a commercial crime insurance policy covers wire transfer losses resulting from a spoofing attack. The ruling is…
July 5, 2018 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…
June 28, 2018 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,”…
June 26, 2018 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…
June 15, 2018 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…
June 6, 2018 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…
May 25, 2018 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…
May 22, 2018 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…
May 18, 2018 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,…
May 11, 2018 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…
May 2, 2018 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…
April 30, 2018 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…
April 27, 2018 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…
April 24, 2018 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…
April 15, 2018 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…
April 9, 2018 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…