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…
Lessons Shared at the County’s First Wildfire Preparedness Event
Lessons Shared at the County’s First Wildfire Preparedness Event

When Heather Vandenberghe saw plumes of smoke blown by 80-mph Santa Ana winds, she listened “to that little voice in my head.” She packed her daughter and her dogs and a few essentials into her car and headed out of Los Angeles’s Palisades area in…
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.…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Losing your home in a disaster when you’re at or near retirement age can derail your finances and jeopardize the funds you were counting on. Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades…
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…
Advocate answers questions about home insurance and wildfire recovery
Advocate answers questions about home insurance and wildfire recovery

After the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire destroyed and damaged thousands of homes across Los Angeles County, residents are being forced to navigate the complicated landscape of home and renter insurance. ABC7 Eyewitness News received dozens of questions about home insurance and wildfire recovery. Anchor…
Updated CalFire map shows increase in ‘very high’ fire hazard acreage in Northern California
Updated CalFire map shows increase in ‘very high’ fire hazard acreage in Northern California

CalFire released a new map this week, expanding hazardous fire zones in Northern California. It’s part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order after the Los Angeles fires. Updated for the first time since 2007, CalFire’s new fire hazard severity zone map offers a resource in…
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…
Home insurance was already hard to get. Then came L.A.’s fires. Here’s what San Diegans need to know.
Home insurance was already hard to get. Then came L.A.’s fires. Here’s what San Diegans need to know.

Amid expected fire losses in the billions of dollars, here’s a primer on how to navigate the San Diego County insurance market and new regulations aimed at keeping carriers from leaving. Read more
Paralyzed by heaps of post-fire paperwork? Here are 8 tips to get started
Paralyzed by heaps of post-fire paperwork? Here are 8 tips to get started

Wildfire victims face heaps of bureaucratic paperwork, including insurance claims, loan applications and requests for FEMA assistance. Completing such forms can be time-consuming and overwhelming. We spoke to psychologists and insurance experts for tips on how to get through it. With containment of the Palisades…
How Will L.A. Rebuild? The Recovery From the Wine Country Fire Offers Clues.
How Will L.A. Rebuild? The Recovery From the Wine Country Fire Offers Clues.

The Tubbs fire in 2017 wiped out more than 5,000 structures in a Northern California county. Homeowners faced challenges, but hundreds were able to rebuild within two years. Donna and Bob Williamson call the strange souvenirs pulled from the ashes of their home their Museum…
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…
The best way to claim insurance if you lost your home or business in the Los Angeles wildfires
The best way to claim insurance if you lost your home or business in the Los Angeles wildfires

More than 6,000 structures have been destroyed in Southern California this week after wildfires, fanned by brutal Santa Ana winds, ripped through multiple neighborhoods of greater Los Angeles. The affected home and business owners are preparing for a tough recovery ahead, one that is likely…
Bay Area agency works to help Southern California fire victims recover
Bay Area agency works to help Southern California fire victims recover

A Bay Area-based agency is stepping up to help those impacted by the deadly and destructive Southern California wildfires. After the Fire USA, based in Sonoma, is already getting to work in the Los Angeles area. CEO Jennifer Gray Thompson said the nonprofit group works…
How the wildfires in Los Angeles area could affect California’s home insurance market
How the wildfires in Los Angeles area could affect California’s home insurance market

The wildfires that destroyed homes in multiple sections of the Los Angeles area will test California’s efforts to stabilize the state’s insurance marketplace after many insurers stopped issuing residential policies due to the high fire risk. The wind-driven blazes that started Tuesday roared through neighborhoods…
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…