January 5, 2022 Guest Blog: First Steps for Recovering Written by Bob Hunnes, Originally published as a Letter to the Editor in the Daily Camera This letter is intended to help anyone who was directly impacted by the Marshall Fire disaster. If this is not pertinent to you, please pass it on to someone…
December 15, 2021 “Friends of Court” Take Key Role in COVID Coverage Appeals ‘Friends Of Court’ Take Key Role In COVID Coverage Appeals – Law360
December 7, 2021 The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home After a year of work, our WRAP working group issued a list of 13 home improvement steps that we believe should be the official standards for a wildfire prepared home. Here are the 13 recommendations from an array of experts in residential wildfire risk reduction.…
December 7, 2021 Virtual Roadmap to Recovery The shelter in place orders that required so many of us to get comfortable (maybe a little too comfortable) on Zoom enabled us to fine-tune our virtual service delivery and give insured loss victims uninterrupted access to the answers and information they need. Virtually, we…
November 29, 2021 RCRC partners with United Policyholders to provide wildfire recovery assistance to rural communities Rural County Representatives of California and its affiliated entity, Golden State Finance Authority, have partnered with the non-profit United Policyholders by providing $50,000 in funding to the 2021 California Wildfires Roadmap to Recovery Program to support rural county communities impacted by catastrophic wildfires. The program…
November 10, 2021 Insurance Commissioner Lara Protects Additional California Wildfire Survivors from Insurance Non-Renewals November 10, 2021 – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today ordered insurance companies to preserve 209,881 residential property insurance policies held by wildfire survivors included in an October 22 emergency declaration, bringing the total statewide to 618,700 policyholders across 31 counties who have temporary protection from…
October 29, 2021 Spooky Language in Your Policy? Getting a notice from a home insurer that they’re dropping you is scary, and UP works hard to help people avoid and deal with that situation. Read our latest tips on shopping for affordable home insurance when your options are limited. Even scarier is hearing…
October 22, 2021 Thwarting insurers’ campaign to duck interruption compensation obligations to businesses Fill in the blank and you’ll understand the public relations campaign the insurance industry uses over and over to maintain record profits by shirking obligations to their premium-paying customers and pass the buck to taxpayers: “If you make us pay ______ claims we’ll go bankrupt.” …
October 19, 2021 UP shares our story for the 30th Anniversary of the Oakland / Berkeley Firestorm United Policyholders was founded in 1991. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Oakland Berkeley Firestorm, UP’s Executive Director Amy Bach shared her story co-founding the nonprofit for the North Hills Phoenix Association Community Comeback: Then and Now video series. This video series delved into…
October 12, 2021 What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today warned consumers to prepare to file claims for damage resulting from Hurricane Ida and offered tips on “how to get all you are entitled to from your insurance company.” CFA believes that Hurricane Ida will produce…
September 24, 2021 The shrubs across the street nearly cost him his home insurance It’s not yet common, but in high-risk fire neighborhoods, Berkeley Hills residents may find that keeping their home insurance depends on how well their neighbors prune their property. At the end of August, wildfire prevention advocate Dan Grassetti opened a letter from Allstate, his home’s…
August 12, 2021 ‘Almost everyone is getting screwed’: After climate disasters, homeowners find their battle with insurers is just beginning [Please note the complete article is behind a paywall.] A grant from the NIHCM Foundation helped fund reporting for this story. Even against the backdrop of the past 18 months, and epic levels of American suffering, John and Jodi Philipp have had a rough…
August 2, 2021 Some California homeowners in fire-prone areas face steep insurance increase SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Across the state, homeowners are preparing for what could be another long wildfire season. Last year broke records for fires in the state, with more than four million acres burned, and this year has already seen hundreds more fires than the…
July 13, 2021 The appeal of COVID-19 business interruption appeals July 9, 2021 – More than one year has passed since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 has infected more than 33 million people in the United States and more than 600,000 have died. Also in…
July 6, 2021 Here’s how California homeowners are trying to save their fire insurance With insurers canceling coverage and raising rates, should fire-proofing homes count? Susan Hassett did everything she could to convince the insurance companies her Yolo County ranch could survive a wildfire. After Allstate told the retired firefighter in 2017 that the devastating blazes across the state…
June 25, 2021 Keeping Score to Avoid Paying More Your credit, insurance or risk score may make you “feel like a number”, but that may be more than a feeling. A low credit score will cause some insurers to offer you inferior coverage at a higher price. Because credit scores are often wrong and…
June 24, 2021 This One Common Insurance Mistake Could Cost You Thousands, Experts Warn REMEDY IT IMMEDIATELY TO KEEP THIS COSTLY ERROR FROM DRAINING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. Across the U.S., there have been snowstorms in May and heatwaves in November, making it clear that the weather is getting harder and harder to plan for. When unpredictable weather strikes, having insurance can help protect…
June 23, 2021 Restoring the Insurance Safetynet Coalition (RISC), A National Initiative The Restoring the Insurance Safety Net Coalition (RISC) is a national initiative launched by United Policyholders in 2020. The purpose of this initiative is to reverse the trend of insurance policy re-writes that are shrinking coverage for damage to homes. These re-writes are dangerously eroding…