Homeowners scramble after insurance company hikes rates following major disasters: ‘Doubles down on the bad news’
Homeowners scramble after insurance company hikes rates following major disasters: ‘Doubles down on the bad news’

With prices continually rising, many people cannot afford to pay for insurance, making them vulnerable to financial damage as well as the risk to life that wildfires bring. What’s happening? The Washington Post reported that Allstate has been approved to raise insurance premiums by 34%…
State Farm Expects to Shed 1M Homeowner Policies in California
State Farm Expects to Shed 1M Homeowner Policies in California

State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, expects to cut 1 million policies to stay financially solvent. The Illinois-based firm, whose trademarked jingle is “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” expects it won’t be here for a third of its statewide property insurance policyholders…
Bonny Doon homeowners to hear from state on insurance crisis
Bonny Doon homeowners to hear from state on insurance crisis

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has accepted an invitation from the Rural Bonny Doon Association to speak at an online forum at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, on the home-insurance crisis facing residents of Santa Cruz County who live in wildfire-prone areas. “All of us…
Coverage shrinks, premiums skyrocket as wildfire risk hits OC multifamily complex
Coverage shrinks, premiums skyrocket as wildfire risk hits OC multifamily complex

At Laguna Village, insurance costs double while damage benefits drop 98% Laguna Village, a townhome community in Laguna Hills, is facing a severe insurance crisis as rising wildfire risks have drastically reduced its coverage while premiums skyrocket. Two years ago, the insurance coverage for the…
California Insurance Commissioner says ‘real change’ coming to homeowners insurance crisis
California Insurance Commissioner says ‘real change’ coming to homeowners insurance crisis

In the last few years, most of California’s major homeowners insurance companies have paused or limited business in the state, citing the rising risk of wildfire, the cost of rebuilding homes and what they consider burdensome state regulations. As a result, hundreds of thousands of…
Anguished homeowners struggle to keep their insurance
Anguished homeowners struggle to keep their insurance

Kerry McCalmont’s insurance company told her to cut down the majestic oak tree towering over her Glendale house if she wants to renew her homeowner’s policy. But there’s a catch. A city ordinance declares that indigenous trees are “natural aesthetic resources” that add “distinction and…
California’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy: What the most extensive insurance overhaul in 30 years means for homeowners
California’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy: What the most extensive insurance overhaul in 30 years means for homeowners

It was a historic summer for California, with 2024 bringing the most severe wildfire season in 16 years. The Park Fire, which began in late July, has burned over 400,000 acres and blazed its way into history books as the fourth-largest wildfire in the state’s…
The best way to protect yourself from the home insurance crisis is also the easiest
The best way to protect yourself from the home insurance crisis is also the easiest

There are countless expensive and arduous ways to protect yourself in California’s home insurance crisis, but brokers say the simplest and most effective may be this: Check your mail. It may seem obvious, but letting a piece of mail from your insurance company fall through…
Nosotros la Gente: FEMA – Dysfunction or distraction
Nosotros la Gente: FEMA – Dysfunction or distraction

My habitual optimism now faces an insurmountable conclusion concerning the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office. When any governmental effort of that size, especially one with a clear and straightforward mission, remains in chaos two years after initial implementation, something is basically wrong. I have…
Harris used her big climate moment to talk about … insurance?
Harris used her big climate moment to talk about … insurance?

The vice president was asked one climate question at the Tuesday debate. Her answer surprised analysts. When Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about climate change at Tuesday’s presidential debate, she used an unusual example to emphasize its importance. Property insurance. Harris’ description of how…
Thousands turn out for Ember Stomp festival in North Bay to celebrate wildfire safety, preparedness
Thousands turn out for Ember Stomp festival in North Bay to celebrate wildfire safety, preparedness

As we head into prime wildfire season, thousands came out for a festival like no other in the North Bay on Saturday. Ember Stomp is a wildfire safety and prevention event, helping homeowners prepare for the very real possibility of a wildfire emergency. Freshly cut…
State officials scramble as insurance companies abandon at-risk homeowners: ‘It’s the perfect storm’
State officials scramble as insurance companies abandon at-risk homeowners: ‘It’s the perfect storm’

“We just do not have companies willing to write business in Louisiana right now, and you can’t blame them.” Facing down a natural disaster is never ideal, but things are about to get even worse for Americans who are losing home insurance primarily as a…
As wildfire risks intensify, California insurance rates keep rising
As wildfire risks intensify, California insurance rates keep rising

Allstate will increase rates by an average of 34.1 percent as part of the state’s deal with the industry to expand coverage to homeowners in risky areas. California insurance officials have approved Allstate’s request to raise insurance rates for homeowners by an average of about…
Liberty Mutual Pulls Fire Insurance From 17,000 Customers in California
Liberty Mutual Pulls Fire Insurance From 17,000 Customers in California

In a significant and alarming development, Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance has announced that it will not renew fire insurance policies for approximately 17,000 customers in California. This move adds to a growing trend of insurance companies scaling back or altogether abandoning the state’s market, leaving…
Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%
Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%

Home insurance is about to get a whole lot more expensive for a lot of people in California. California’s Department of Insurance recently approved Allstate’s request for the largest rate increase the state has seen in the past three years. Homeowners’ insurance will go up…
California weighs sweeping reforms in insurance regulations, amid mounting wildfire risk
California weighs sweeping reforms in insurance regulations, amid mounting wildfire risk

The raging wildfires that have become a mainstay in certain California communities are not only devastating family dwellings — they are also impeding Californians from procuring the insurance necessary to protect these homes in the future. Aiming to both quell soaring prices and bring back…
The pros and cons of self-insurance for homeowners
The pros and cons of self-insurance for homeowners

“What do you think about going without homeowners insurance?” It was a question I had been asked before. Tim is a past client who I helped buy a home in Shingle Springs several years ago. He told me when he first purchased the home State…
District 1 Town Hall Offers Advice on Navigating Fire Insurance Crisis
District 1 Town Hall Offers Advice on Navigating Fire Insurance Crisis

If you are dropped from your fire insurance, ask questions and find out why, a national consumer advocate advised attendees at the District 1 Town Hall in Nevada City Tuesday. Amy Bach, co-founder of United Policyholders, also advised finding out your risk score (similar to…