Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk
Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk

Acquiring home insurance has long been a mundane but necessary chore. In California, for hundreds of thousands of residents, it’s turned into a labyrinthine quest that leaves people with expensive, bare-bones coverage. That’s because an increasing amount of Californians have been dropped by their regular…
Smoke, Maggots, and Mold: Fire Survivors Fight Insurance Company’s Denials
Smoke, Maggots, and Mold: Fire Survivors Fight Insurance Company’s Denials

In the Santa Cruz mountains, the charred scars of the CZU fire stretch in every direction. But every once in a while, the scorched landscape yields to a house that survived. Theresa Brees’ home is one of the lucky ones. “Our house is basically an…
Who Is The California Earthquake Authority?
Who Is The California Earthquake Authority?

You might call the California Earthquake Authority a financial shock absorber for the Golden State, home to nearly 40 million people and to two-thirds of the country’s earthquake risk. Created in 1996, the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is the largest residential earthquake insurer in the…
Guest Blog: An Adjuster’s View on Derecho Claims
Guest Blog: An Adjuster’s View on Derecho Claims

by: Caeden Tinklenberg, Swift Public Adjusters Two months after the August 10 derecho that swept Iowa, many homeowners are realizing they may be left out in the cold by their insurance company. The damage left by the derecho is unfathomable to me as an Iowa…
Santa Rosa firm helps wildfire victims navigate battles with insurance companies
Santa Rosa firm helps wildfire victims navigate battles with insurance companies

Three years since the Tubbs fire, there have been some notable improvements for homeowners who are wrangling with their insurance carriers in the aftermath of a wildfire loss. The state Legislature enacted some reforms, such as boosting rental living expenses from a maximum of two…
Wildfire survivors facing total property loss struggle with insurance claims process
Wildfire survivors facing total property loss struggle with insurance claims process

With a destructive wildfire season still underway, Insurance Commissioner Lara is urging insurance companies to help wildfire survivors. CALIFORNIA, USA — California has had an incredibly destructive wildfire season, which have left many residences without a home or facing significant property damage. As a result,…
Gov. Newsom signs insurance bill providing quicker payments for wildfire losses
Gov. Newsom signs insurance bill providing quicker payments for wildfire losses

Wildfire victims who lose their home and possessions will be able to recoup money for their expenses faster, thanks to legislation that makes property insurance benefits easier to collect. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 872 into law Thursday, providing a suite of insurance protections…
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Insurance Companies to Cover Wildfire Property Losses Without Requiring a Home Inventory
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Insurance Companies to Cover Wildfire Property Losses Without Requiring a Home Inventory

October 3, 2020 – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In response to California’s latest destructive fires, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is requesting that insurance companies help wildfire survivors who are overwhelmed with the task of navigating the claims process by providing up to 100 percent of personal…
California wildfires: What you need to know about insurance for your losses
California wildfires: What you need to know about insurance for your losses

As still more wildfires rage in the Bay Area, many wonder how to handle the practicalities if they must evacuate — or worse, if their home is lost or damaged. Here are answers to common questions about insurance, money and real estate. Q: I had…
Sonoma County fire survivors embrace roles as guides and counselors to latest wave of disaster victims
Sonoma County fire survivors embrace roles as guides and counselors to latest wave of disaster victims

Vita Iskander had no intention of taking a leadership role when she walked into Santa Rosa’s Unitarian Universalist church on Oct. 25, 2017. Seventeen days earlier, her home in Hidden Valley Estates had burned in the Tubbs fire. Still in something of a daze, she…
‘It looked like a nuclear bomb went off:’ words of advice from a Tubbs fire survivor
‘It looked like a nuclear bomb went off:’ words of advice from a Tubbs fire survivor

PHOENIX, Ore. — Janet Reisner woke up to the smell of smoke on Oct. 8, 2017, when she looked out the window, she saw fireballs landing in her backyard. Her home of 20 years in Santa Rosa, Calif. was one of the 5600 structures lost in…
Dealing With Wildfire Damage? These Free Resources Can Help You File Your Insurance Claim
Dealing With Wildfire Damage? These Free Resources Can Help You File Your Insurance Claim

The trauma of a wildfire is compounded only by the stress of trying to figure out if you’re covered under your insurance and how to collect under those policies for any damage to your property. Fortunately, ample free help is available, from coverage information to…
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Insurance Companies to Cover Reimbursement Costs for Those Displaced During Wildfires
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Insurance Companies to Cover Reimbursement Costs for Those Displaced During Wildfires

September 7, 2020 – LOS ANGELES, Calif. – To assist Californians displaced by the current and recent wildfires throughout the state, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a Notice to all California property and casualty insurance companies urging them to cover Additional Living Expenses (ALE) for…
It’s fire season. Here are three ways to prepare financially
It’s fire season. Here are three ways to prepare financially

Good morning. I’m Rachel Schnalzer, the L.A. Times Business section’s audience engagement editor, back with our weekly newsletter. While the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic are the usual focus of the newsletter, I’m pivoting this week to discuss another crisis facing Californians: the wildfires…
Statewide town hall to address wildfire assistance and insurance resources
Statewide town hall to address wildfire assistance and insurance resources

Join Cal OES Director, Mark Ghilarducci, CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and United Policyholders Executive Director, Amy Bach for a Statewide Virtual Town Hall on wildfires assistance and insurance resources available to renters and homeowners. With many communities experiencing evacuations, loss of homes and the…
Insurance Commissioner to Investigate Key Wildfire Insurance Issues Under Legislation Headed to Senate Floor, says Consumer Watchdog
Insurance Commissioner to Investigate Key Wildfire Insurance Issues Under Legislation Headed to Senate Floor, says Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara would investigate and develop solutions to ensure affordable, accessible insurance for homeowners in wildfire areas and report back to the legislature, under amendments to AB 2167 adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.…
UP helping CA households struggling to find and afford home insurance
UP helping CA households struggling to find and afford home insurance

Through our Roadmap to Preparedness and Advocacy and Action programs, United Policyholders is continuing to work hard to help the thousands of California households that are struggling to keep their homes properly insured at a price they can afford and with a company they can…
Fire Victim Trust Funded July 1st
Fire Victim Trust Funded July 1st

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The PG&E Fire Victim Trust announced today that it has been funded effective today. The Trust received the Fire Victim Trust settlement proceeds from PG&E which includes 476,995,175 shares of PG&E Common Stock and the first installment of…