As Fire Season Heats Up, Insurance Companies Drop Long-Time Clients
As Fire Season Heats Up, Insurance Companies Drop Long-Time Clients

Sep. 15–Frances Mann-Craik loves living amid the trees along Highway 35. But her quiet life in the mountains above Silicon Valley is about to get a lot more expensive. Along with more than a dozen of her neighbors, Mann-Craik recently received a letter from Walnut…
Wildfires breed home insurance woes, even far from flames
Wildfires breed home insurance woes, even far from flames

BERKELEY, Calif. KGO) — With all the wildfires in California these past few years, homeowners have begun dealing with unprecedented difficulties with their insurance companies. And we’re not talking only about areas that burned. When Sue Von Baeyer of Berkeley received the letter from Allstate…
Insurance firms drop Berkeley Hills homeowners, citing wildfire risk
Insurance firms drop Berkeley Hills homeowners, citing wildfire risk

Marina Sadler thinks about fire safety “like every day, 12 times a day.” It’s not unfounded paranoia. Sadler lives in what’s called the “wildland-urban interface,” where the narrow residential roads of the Berkeley Hills wind through fire-prone brush and practically spill into Tilden Park. The…
After the Hurricane, Dealing With Insurance Claims
After the Hurricane, Dealing With Insurance Claims

As Hurricane Dorian churned north this week, residents along the Atlantic coast were preparing to assess the possible damage to their homes, and to determine what their insurance policies will cover. Homeowners whose properties were affected by the storm should act as quickly as feasible…
California lawmakers approve bill fueled by homeowner insurance adjuster errors in fires’ wake
California lawmakers approve bill fueled by homeowner insurance adjuster errors in fires’ wake

Consumer advocates and state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara hailed the approval of a bill by state Sen. Bill Dodd aimed at mistakes and delays in handling homeowner insurance claims in the wake of the 2017 wildfires. The bill, SB 240, came in response to testimony…
To Bundle or Not to Bundle Insurance: A Few Things to Consider
To Bundle or Not to Bundle Insurance: A Few Things to Consider

It seems like a slam dunk. Taking out policies on your home, car, motorcycle and boat with one company, or “bundling” is the topic of many a TV commercial. You can simplify your life and get big discounts, according to the ads. Aside from savings,…
How to File an Insurance Claim After a Hurricane
How to File an Insurance Claim After a Hurricane

When a major hurricane is approaching the main concern for anyone in its path should be the personal safety of everyone in your family. Once the winds and rains have passed the next step is often planning a path for recovery. And that path usually…
Long after the wildfires, paperwork and worry
Long after the wildfires, paperwork and worry

Having to become an expert on insurance is one of the many surprising and not so pleasant aspects of the “new normal” after a wildfire takes your home. I know more about insurance now than I ever thought I would. Learning that your home insurance…
Diagnosis Debt: Medical bills and paperwork mix-ups, what you can do to help your case
Diagnosis Debt: Medical bills and paperwork mix-ups, what you can do to help your case

CLEVELAND — Our on-going series “Diagnosis: Debt” delves into the problems you’re having with medical costs piling up. How many times have you gotten a medical bill, then received an insurance statement, but the two don’t match up? For one Solon man, his paperwork mix-up…
North Bay Fire Victims Face Dire Deadline Ahead of Anniversary
North Bay Fire Victims Face Dire Deadline Ahead of Anniversary

Weeks ahead of the North Bay wildfires’ two-year anniversary, families are bracing for a financial shock. Several homeowners told NBC Bay Area their property insurance providers will stop paying for temporary living expenses, even if their new homes aren’t ready for move-in. The Sonoma and…
After wildfires, hundreds of thousands of Californians can’t get insurance
After wildfires, hundreds of thousands of Californians can’t get insurance

An estimated 350,000 California home and business owners are unable to get property and casualty insurance after last year’s devastating wildfires. As the threat of mega-fires grows across the state, California’s insurance commissioner predicts the situation will get worse. Consumers say insurers are “holding us…
Column: California’s fire insurance market reaches a crisis
Column: California’s fire insurance market reaches a crisis

Steve Nielsen would not normally have considered himself a resident of California’s wildfire zone. But that ended in October 2017, when a fire swept through Coffey Park, his suburban Santa Rosa neighborhood, destroying his home and those of about 1,200 neighbors. Since then, Nielsen, 54,…
Nearly 350,000 California Homeowners in Fire Prone Areas Dropped by Insurers
Nearly 350,000 California Homeowners in Fire Prone Areas Dropped by Insurers

Click Here to Listen to Amy Bach on KQED Forum 8/26/19 Between 2015 and 2018, insurance companies dropped nearly 350,000 California homeowners in high-risk fire areas. This insurance coverage data, recently released by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s office, does not reflect how many people…
California homeowners are facing an “insurance crisis”
California homeowners are facing an “insurance crisis”

Wildfires are a growing concern for residents living in fire-prone areas and now keeping insurance to protect their belongings is becoming a crisis. The California Department of Insurance found a six-percent increase in the number of customers dropped by their insurance companies. In zip codes…
After 2017 fires, more Sonoma County homeowners turn to state for insurance coverage
After 2017 fires, more Sonoma County homeowners turn to state for insurance coverage

Homeowners are finding it more difficult to obtain insurance to cover their homes in wildfire-prone areas of California, especially in high-risk regions such as communities in the Sierra Nevada, according to a report released Tuesday by the state insurance department. Insurers declined to renew 167,570…
Insurance Companies Are Paying Cops To Investigate Their Own Customers
Insurance Companies Are Paying Cops To Investigate Their Own Customers

A cozy alliance between insurers and law enforcement has turned the justice system into the industry’s hired gun and left innocent customers facing prison. When police showed up at Harry Schmidt’s home on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, he thought they were there to help. He…
5 things to do if you’ve been dropped by your home insurer
5 things to do if you’ve been dropped by your home insurer

The value of home insurance cannot be understated. For most people, a home is their single biggest investment or asset. Nearly everything one owns — clothes, electronics, important documents and much more — dwells inside the home, and home insurance provides a way to safeguard…
Residents still trying to understand Camp Fire contamination at standing homes
Residents still trying to understand Camp Fire contamination at standing homes

PARADISE — A stale chemical smell hangs in Lisa Kasza’s garage in lower Paradise. Piles of toys, books and other possessions covered in a thin layer of dust wait to be thrown out. Nine months ago, the Camp Fire burned all the trees, bushes and…