BACH TALK: Consumers need help (with shrinking property insurance affordability and availability)
BACH TALK: Consumers need help (with shrinking property insurance affordability and availability)

Americans today in hurricane, flood and wildfire prone regions (particularly in areas where there have been recent disasters) are paying much higher premiums and having a very hard time finding affordable property insurance options.  This is a national phenomenon that United Policyholders has been helping…
California Annuity Sales Rule Bill Faces Consumer Group Opposition
California Annuity Sales Rule Bill Faces Consumer Group Opposition

SB 263, California’s annuity sales standards update bill, sailed through the state Senate in May, with no opposing votes at the committee level or on the state Senate floor. But the ultimate fate of the bill is still uncertain because of ongoing strong opposition from…
Climate disasters make it harder to insure your home. Here’s what to know.
Climate disasters make it harder to insure your home. Here’s what to know.

Premiums are soaring and carriers are pulling back coverage, citing disaster risks. Climate change is a big factor, but there are others at play. Homeowners are bracing for hurricane and fire seasons, but with insurance premiums rising and carriers pulling back coverage in riskier states,…
Allstate becomes the second home insurer to pull out of California
Allstate becomes the second home insurer to pull out of California

State Farm announced a similar decision last week The question must now be asked. Will California homeowners be able to buy insurance coverage for their homes? Allstate has become the second major insurance company to announce it will stop writing homeowners insurance policies in the…
A Timely New Tool From a UP Partner
A Timely New Tool From a UP Partner

Patient, informed shopping has never been more important than in today’s property insurance marketplace. Consumers face a triple threat: Protection gaps, deductibles and premiums are all sharply increasing. This is happening due to financial trends, insurtech, disasters linked to climate change and insurers’ strategies to…
UP alerts CA legislators to proceed with caution on insurers’ wish list
UP alerts CA legislators to proceed with caution on insurers’ wish list

California consumers have long enjoyed the benefits of property insurance premium savings thanks to the voter-enacted Proposition 103 rate regulation regime, and insurers have long decried that regime. United Policyholders generally focuses on helping consumers get treated fairly by insurers, avoid and solve coverage gaps,…
Marin lawmaker aims to protect home insurance for seniors in fire-prone areas
Marin lawmaker aims to protect home insurance for seniors in fire-prone areas

A bill introduced by Assemblymember Damon Connolly of San Rafael would prohibit home insurance providers from dropping coverage for seniors living in high fire-risk areas and would cap premium hikes. The bill, AB 478, would forbid insurance providers from dropping policies for residents 65 and…
Tis the Season to Get Prepared
Tis the Season to Get Prepared

Need a last minute holiday gift? Give the people you love peace of mind by helping them be financially resilient and prepared. This Give Peace of Mind Gift Catalog is full of free tips to help spark important discussions and actions around disaster preparedness. Whether you are traveling…
Home insurance availability, affordability AND quality is shrinking: States and the Feds must coordinate and take action to protect homeownership in the US
Home insurance availability, affordability AND quality is shrinking: States and the Feds must coordinate and take action to protect homeownership in the US

  We support the Federal Insurance Office in their efforts to gather national data to get a clear picture of how insurers are adapting their operations in response to climate change, and how their actions are impacting property insurance affordability and availability across the nation. …
2022…it’s a WRAP*
2022…it’s a WRAP*

As another productive work year draws to a close for Team UP, we can celebrate the holidays knowing we’ve helped many people overcome disaster recovery and insurance challenges in 2022 and been an effective champion for consumers on many fronts. Through our work with elected…
Ain’t no Sunshine When Policyholders’ Leverage is Gone
Ain’t no Sunshine When Policyholders’ Leverage is Gone

It looks like the Florida legislature is about to pass a set of radical amendments that will deprive property owners in the Sunshine State of the power to enforce the laws that give them the right to be treated fairly by insurance companies…and with no…
Scary insurance premiums…what to do?
Scary insurance premiums…what to do?

Home and business insurance premiums in hurricane and wildfire prone regions have jumped to scary levels…Those who can’t afford the increases are increasingly “going bare” if they own their homes outright. Those with mortgages are going deeper into debt to pay for mandated insurance. Bundling…
California looks to lower insurance costs with new wildfire regulations
California looks to lower insurance costs with new wildfire regulations

California has introduced new wildfire safety regulation to help drive down cost of insurance by recognizing and rewarding wildfire safety and mitigation efforts made by homeowners and businesses. Insurance Commission Ricardo Lara’s regulation will require insurance companies to submit new rates that recognize the benefit…
State enforces nation’s first wildfire safety regulation to help drive down cost of insurance
State enforces nation’s first wildfire safety regulation to help drive down cost of insurance

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said he will enforce the new insurance pricing regulation he wrote recognizing and rewarding wildfire safety and mitigation efforts made by homeowners and businesses. Commissioner Lara’s regulation is the first in the nation requiring insurance companies to provide discounts to consumers…
California will require insurers to reward consumers for wildfire mitigations
California will require insurers to reward consumers for wildfire mitigations

(The Center Square) – California homeowners and businesses that take steps to protect their properties from wildfires will soon pay lower insurance rates under a new, first-in-the-nation framework introduced by the state’s insurance commissioner. The new regulation, announced by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, requires…
California to require insurance discounts for property owners who reduce wildfire risk
California to require insurance discounts for property owners who reduce wildfire risk

California will become the first state in the nation to require insurance premium discounts for owners of homes and businesses that are made safer from wildfires. New rules mandate that insurance companies reward consumers who take wildfire safety and mitigation actions under the state’s Safer…
UP and WRAP partners testify before Congress on insurance challenges and progress in wildfire-prone states
UP and WRAP partners testify before Congress on insurance challenges and progress in wildfire-prone states

On September 22, 2022, in invited testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance, Executive Director Amy Bach presented consumer viewpoints and initiatives that are underway to restore affordable insurance options for property owners in wildfire-prone regions.…
CDI Regulations Moving Forward
CDI Regulations Moving Forward

United Policyholders is pleased to share the news that the California Department of Insurance has now announced its intention to formally move forward with its proposed “Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models” regulations.  Once formally adopted, the regulations will legally require insurers to…