A dark cloud over the Sunshine State
A dark cloud over the Sunshine State

UP weighed in today with a letter to Florida state lawmakers to urge their no votes on three bills that will gut policyholder protections in that state if enacted as written.  House Bill 301, Senate Bill 714,  House Bill 751. Honorable Florida lawmakers: Our non-profit…
Sonoma County Flood Damage Estimated At $155M
Sonoma County Flood Damage Estimated At $155M

The county and at least two cities have declared local emergencies. A Local Assistance Center is now open in Guerneville. SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Days of heavy rains and flooding along the Russian River have caused an estimated $155 million in damage across Sonoma County,…
Latest North Bay disaster underscores growing need for flood insurance
Latest North Bay disaster underscores growing need for flood insurance

After reeling from property damage caused by recent wildfires, North Bay residents now are confronting another natural disaster in flooding — a threat that is not covered by property insurance and which could escalate as storms become more volatile in a changing climate. Unlike fire-related…
Support Center For Residents Impacted By Storms
Support Center For Residents Impacted By Storms

A local assistance center will open Sunday in Guerneville to provide services to Sonoma County residents affected by recent storms and flooding. Government agencies and nonprofits will be represented at the center, and all county residents can access services regardless of immigration status, according to…
Groups Petition CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara To Ban Use of Occupation and Education to Price Auto Insurance
Groups Petition CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara To Ban Use of Occupation and Education to Price Auto Insurance

Community organizations representing consumers, low-income workers and communities of color petitioned Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today to ban the use of occupation and education to set auto insurance premiums. Many California auto insurance companies charge lower-income and less-educated drivers up to 15% more in order…
Their Home Survived The Camp Fire — But Their Insurance Did Not
Their Home Survived The Camp Fire — But Their Insurance Did Not

Tom and Tamara Conry were dead set on returning to Paradise after the deadly Camp Fire destroyed the town last November. The couple’s home was barely touched by the fire, and most other survivors had a much steeper climb to recovery. But when their property…
Gender can no longer be used to calculate auto insurance rates in California and other states
Gender can no longer be used to calculate auto insurance rates in California and other states

As rates go higher, insurers have other ways to calculate risk, including the monitoring of driving behavior. California has become the seventh state to ban auto insurers from using gender as a factor for calculating the rates customers pay. But as regulators push the industry…
Regulating financial practices is critical to a healthy economy
Regulating financial practices is critical to a healthy economy

Some leaders in the financial services community work hard to weaken consumer protection regulations and the agencies that enforce them.  But it clear from recent history (2008) that the American economy works much better when financial consumer protections are in place and being enforced. UP…
United Policyholders on KCBS-AM
United Policyholders on KCBS-AM

Listen to the radio clip Transcript …on that front trying to get various insurance company to do the right thing we’ve been dragging into mediation and you know ready to go House in one case according to the consumer advocacy group United Policy holders two…
A coverage win for energy sector policyholders
A coverage win for energy sector policyholders

In a significant win for all policyholders in the energy sector, the Supreme Court of Texas reversed a lower appellate court ruling which allowed a consortium of Lloyd’s underwriters to limit their indemnity obligations to pay for defense expenses incurred by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and…
This Paradise Couple’s Home Survived — But Their Insurer Dropped Them, Anyway
This Paradise Couple’s Home Survived — But Their Insurer Dropped Them, Anyway

Not all homes in Paradise were destroyed by November’s deadly Camp Fire. Approximately 10 percent of buildings in the town of Paradise are still standing, according to a rough estimate from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But families who still have their…
Keeping home insurance available and affordable in our era of climate change and tech tools
Keeping home insurance available and affordable in our era of climate change and tech tools

Generally speaking, home insurance companies are free to pick which homes they want to insure and which they don’t.  There has been an explosion in tech tools that insurance companies can use to assess risks and decide who and what they are willing to insure…
California’s wildfire victims could be like most homeowners: underinsured
California’s wildfire victims could be like most homeowners: underinsured

As owners of the nearly 18,000 properties destroyed by California’s recent wildfires begin to file insurance claims, many of them will likely find they do not have enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding. Surveys from the research firm Marshall & Swift/Boeckh have found…
Insurance issues linger well after California North Coast wildfires are out
Insurance issues linger well after California North Coast wildfires are out

As the North Bay welcomed 2018, it was clear to survivors of October 2017’s wildfires that much of the year would involve dealing with post-fires insurance claims, which reached $9.5 billion, according to state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. And after another season of historic fires…
December Roadmap to Recovery Workshops
December Roadmap to Recovery Workshops

Through our Roadmap to Recovery program, United Policyholders is presenting an Insurance and Recovery Orientation workshop to help recent wildfire survivors understand insurance lingo, insurance rights and figure out next steps. Woolsey Fire Insurance and Recovery Orientation Saturday, December 15th 10am-12pm Malibu Public Library 23519 West Civic…
Wildfires may soon be uninsurable risks for homeowners
Wildfires may soon be uninsurable risks for homeowners

Homeowners in wildfire-prone areas of California and other Western states now have yet another worry: Insurers have issued an ominous warning that they could be facing a “wildfire deductible” in coming years or, even worse, the prospect of having their home insurance canceled altogether. The…
Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfire property losses reach $9 billion
Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfire property losses reach $9 billion

Insurance costs already rival last year’s nearly $12 billion in losses from wildfires This year’s wildfire season is already California’s deadliest and most destructive. On Wednesday, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said it is also among the costliest in private property losses with claims totaling…
Insurer goes bust from Camp Fire with millions in claims unpaid. How will it affect Paradise homeowners?
Insurer goes bust from Camp Fire with millions in claims unpaid. How will it affect Paradise homeowners?

Millions of dollars in potential losses from the Camp Fire have ruined a small Merced County insurance company, providing another element of uncertainty for homeowners following the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history. A judge declared Merced Property & Casualty Co. of Atwater…