Can roadside assistance sabotage your car insurance?
Can roadside assistance sabotage your car insurance?

When your car battery dies or you get a flat tire, having a roadside assistance plan can be a godsend. Car insurance companies generally offer cheaper roadside plans than those of motor clubs. However, these programs raise a question in many consumers’ minds, says Amy…
Community Fair Equips Residents With Tools, Answers Needed to Rebuild
Community Fair Equips Residents With Tools, Answers Needed to Rebuild

Raúl and Laura Zamora, like many homeowners in the Crestmoor neighborhood who were affected by the Sept. 9 fire, still haven’t been able to figure out how they’re going to move forward. They live in Concord but they had been renting their home on Fairmont…
Local Experts Help San Bruno Families Tackle Recovery Challenges
Local Experts Help San Bruno Families Tackle Recovery Challenges

For Immediate Release Contact: Amy Bach, United Policyholders, 415) 393-9990 Kate Comfort Harr, Rebuilding Together, 650) 366-6597 Local Experts Help San Bruno Families Tackle Recovery Challenges Local non-profits host “Dollars and Sense” info fair and workshops on Home Repairs, Insurance, Rebuilding and Recovery: January 9th,…
California wildfire survivor offers insurance help to Fourmile Fire victims
California wildfire survivor offers insurance help to Fourmile Fire victims

Karen Reimus bought her Southern California home just four months before the flames from the massive Cedar Fire consumed it in 2003. Reimus and her husband, both lawyers, had been careful to choose a good insurance policy, one they believed would cover the full cost…
Bed bugs may bite insurers, but won’t dog industry
Bed bugs may bite insurers, but won’t dog industry

When dogs bite people, insurers often pay. But what happens when bed bugs bite? Bed-bug infestations in the United States have multiplied at an alarming rate in recent years. A recent survey of almost 1,000 pest exterminators found that 95% of the firms had dealt…
Burned again – Fourmile fire victims report problems getting insurance money
Burned again – Fourmile fire victims report problems getting insurance money

Some residents who lost their homes in the Fourmile Canyon fire are telling horror stories about trying to get their insurance companies to reimburse them for the full cost of their belongings and rebuilding their homes. One homeowner, who asked not to be identified for…
Do you know what your insurance covers?
Do you know what your insurance covers?

LITTLE ROCK, AR – It’s disaster season; do you know where your insurance policy is? Think your odds of disaster are low so you don’t need to really worry about what’s covered? You’re not alone. A recent survey shows a lot of us don’t have…
P-U! Is sewage backup covered?
P-U! Is sewage backup covered?

Stinky sewage back-up and overflowing drains are a very common cause of damage to homes and businesses, especially those located in flat areas or near the bottom of slopes. Many policies now exclude coverage for the clean-up and repairs, but for a mere $20 a…
Flaws can cancel life insurance — after death
Flaws can cancel life insurance — after death

American General Life Insurance Co. markets its policies as protection for “the hopes and dreams of American families” — a promise Ian Weissberger took to heart during his losing battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. But after the Cathedral City mortgage broker died in 2005, American…
Call Kurtis Investigates: Travel Insurance
Call Kurtis Investigates: Travel Insurance

What Some Companies Don’t Reveal Before You Buy Only when you have to use it, you find out, it sometimes doesn’t cover your emergency. After several viewers found themselves roadblocked, they called Kurtis to investigate. We’ve received a number of complaints over the past five…
San Diego County Roadmap to Preparedness Outreach and Education
San Diego County Roadmap to Preparedness Outreach and Education

Preparedness in the News: Resolutions to keep your family safe Insurance Commissioner: Time to Prepare for Wildfires Neighborhood Watch Meeting Draws Dozens Of Residents Disaster Preparedness Workshop Set Be “insurance assured” as wildfire season approaches Guest Speaker Shares Insurance Buying Tips With RB Community Council…
5 years after Katrina, homeowners insurance costs more
5 years after Katrina, homeowners insurance costs more

Five years after Hurricane Katrina leveled a large part of the Gulf Coast, homeowners as far away as Maine are still paying the bill. Home insurance rates for some coastal areas have shot up 30% or more. Thousands of homeowners who live along the East…
Even with insurance, being made whole takes work
Even with insurance, being made whole takes work

Owners or renters of the homes destroyed or damaged in the fire that tore through a San Bruno neighborhood Thursday are staring at a long and challenging process to recoup their losses. Getting paid the full amount they’re entitled to for their dwellings, possessions and…
Rebuilding tips for disaster victims
Rebuilding tips for disaster victims

Even though many of the fire victims are still in shock, they must still pull it together and start of the process of rebuilding and this type of tragedy is what homeowners insurance is all about. But dealing with the loss isn’t always like one…
San Bruno fire victims navigate insurance process
San Bruno fire victims navigate insurance process

Though city officials are shifting their focus to help rebuild the neighborhood where a natural gas pipeline exploded last month, the pace of recovery will depend largely on how quickly the money starts to flow in. To that end, dozens of residents with destroyed or…
Be ‘insurance assured’ as wildfire season approaches
Be ‘insurance assured’ as wildfire season approaches

These tools and workshops apply lessons learned by those who’ve lost homes in past wildfires, plus tips from leading safety and construction experts. United Policyholders is a national nonprofit 501c) 3) organization that educates consumers on insurance matters with over 19 years of experience helping…
Whose money is talking?
Whose money is talking?

Whether it’s a damage report from a vendor hired by your insurer or a political ad…a savvy consumer needs to know whose money is behind the message. Is there a hidden agenda or can you trust what you’re hearing or reading? Who is paying to…
Your Home, Your Choice
Your Home, Your Choice

Whether your home was damaged by something as wild as a tornado or as commonplace as an overflowing washing machine, your insurer may suggest a contractor to do the repairs. They may call them “preferred” but that doesn’t mean you’re forced to hire them to…