Summer is Here ~ Less is More
Summer is Here ~ Less is More

If you live in a suburb or rural area, as you refuel the BBQ and dust off outdoor furniture, take a moment to look around your home and yard. What is in that first five feet around and right up against your home? What if…
Commissioner Lara appoints members to new Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force
Commissioner Lara appoints members to new Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force

In response to the smoke damage caused by wildfires across California, including the recent Palisades and Eaton fires, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has appointed members to his new Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force. Led by the California Department of Insurance, the Task Force includes…
California moves to set nation’s first smoke damage insurance standard
California moves to set nation’s first smoke damage insurance standard

One of the most common insurance complaints after a fire comes from people whose homes are still standing but covered in potentially toxic soot. Because there is no state or federal standard for smoke damage, insurance companies often refuse to pay for cleanup, leaving victims…
NAPIA Celebrates 75th Year with New Leadership and Renewed Vision
NAPIA Celebrates 75th Year with New Leadership and Renewed Vision

The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) proudly announces the installation of its 2025–2026 Officers and Board of Directors during its landmark 75th Annual Meeting held at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. This historic event celebrates NAPIA’s legacy and reaffirms its role…
‘I think that’s simply fraud’: California hearing probes solutions to underinsurance after Chronicle investigation
‘I think that’s simply fraud’: California hearing probes solutions to underinsurance after Chronicle investigation

In an impassioned hearing that extended well beyond its two-hour allotted time, builders, insurance experts and policyholder advocates testified to the California Board of Equalization about the harms of widespread and severe underinsurance among California wildfire survivors, after a Chronicle investigation that exposed the severity…
California home insurance rates to continue rising, experts warn
California home insurance rates to continue rising, experts warn

Home insurance prices in California will keep rising, say industry experts at a conference this week. Home insurance prices will continue rising. That was a message from industry experts this week, as they gathered to discuss the state’s insurance crisis. “It’s going to be a…
California Insurance Crisis: a recap
California Insurance Crisis: a recap

On Wednesday, May 14, Capitol Weekly and the University of California Student and Policy Center hosted “California Insurance Crisis,” its first in-person gathering of the year and second conference of 2025. Held at the Student and Policy Center’s conference center, the event featured three panels…
Panel to consider board certification in insurance coverage law
Panel to consider board certification in insurance coverage law

The Bar’s Program Evaluation Committee later this week will consider a proposal to create a new “Insurance Coverage Law” board certification area. The Board of Legal Specialization Committee narrowly approved the proposal, 8-6, in January, after asking sponsors in November to revise certain standards. Covering…
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling

Insurance coverage for wildfire debris damage will remain limited under California law after the state’s high court denied requests to depublish an appeals court ruling favoring insurers. Consumer and policyholder groups filed their requests to depublish just days after a California insurance regulator issued a…
To whom it may concern…
To whom it may concern…

Submitting comments on proposed changes to your state’s insurance laws is a no-cost way of helping protect yourself as a consumer. Your insurance company is making their voice heard – you can too! There are many proposals making their way through state legislatures across the country today that relate to the…
Court rules Admiral Insurance may be liable for faulty construction damages under CGL policy
Court rules Admiral Insurance may be liable for faulty construction damages under CGL policy

In a decision that could reshape how insurance carriers assess liability for construction defects, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled on April 17 that coverage under a commercial general liability policy may apply even when claims arise from breach-of-contract allegations – so long as the underlying…
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis

Fire and insurance experts convened on Tuesday to help California take a step toward solving its insurance issues with big data. “We are here to try to tackle a crisis.,” said panelist Amy Bach, who heads the nonprofit advocacy group United Policyholders in San Francisco.…
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says

After seeing his premiums quadruple in the past three years, Shawn Faircloth wondered if a new wildfire designation could spell yet another insurance hike for his San Juan Capistrano home. “I’m assuming they will leverage up my rates even more,” said Faircloth, 49, whose home…
State: Home insurance companies can’t cancel policies based solely on aerial photos
State: Home insurance companies can’t cancel policies based solely on aerial photos

The department that oversees private insurance in New Hampshire has warned companies that it takes more than an aerial photo or two of a house to make decisions about issuing a policy. “The Department has received several complaints in recent months in which certain carriers…
Insurers’ values determine claims denials more than AI
Insurers’ values determine claims denials more than AI

Using AI to deny property and casualty insurance claims or settle them for less may not be clear cut, and could be done by analyzing other aspects of a claim, like the claimant’s personal finances. “From the advent of things like data mining, AI, risk…
How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S.
How climate change is reshaping home insurance in California — and the rest of the U.S.

As the wildfires in Los Angeles tear through hillsides, raze neighborhoods and displace residents, it’s too early to know how vast the destruction will be when the last of the flames is put out. Initial estimates predict that the costs will be massive. One leading…
Experts warn CA homeowners insurance premiums could spike in wake of SoCal wildfires
Experts warn CA homeowners insurance premiums could spike in wake of SoCal wildfires

Part of the governor’s state of emergency includes an insurance non-renewal moratorium. The state’s insurance commissioner told our colleagues at KABC Wednesday that he’s working on protecting homeowners in the affected areas from being dropped by their insurer for one year. It’s raising serious questions…
Los Angeles wildfires could make insurance crisis worse
Los Angeles wildfires could make insurance crisis worse

The recent wildfires in Los Angeles could become the most expensive series of wildfires in California’s history, not due to the number of homes lost, but because of the high value of the properties affected, experts say. AccuWeather released a preliminary estimate this week, putting…