April 2, 2021 It’s severe weather season in Texas — do you know where your homeowners insurance policy is? If you tend to stuff your insurance policy away in a drawer or a file and not look at it for a year or more, it could cost you big. DALLAS — Wed., March 24 is an important date if you are eligible for a…
March 10, 2021 Why You Should Buy Renters Insurance: 5 Things to Know The coverage is affordable and easy to buy, and provides a safety net if something goes wrong When the deep freeze hit Texas in February, Amani Elsawah was among the millions of residents who lost power and suffered water damage from burst frozen pipes. The…
March 9, 2021 Proposed insurance rules would give property owners access to wildfire risk score Under new rules proposed by California’s insurance commissioner, home and business owners will have open access to their wildfire risk scores that companies use to determine rates and renew coverage. Commissioner Ricardo Lara said he has heard the frustration and confusion from residents over how…
January 25, 2021 Life (insurance) Lessons Pandemic-related layoffs, furloughs and business closures have forced many Americans to tap retirement accounts and cut non-essential expenses to get by. If you’re experiencing financial hardship but don’t want your auto, home or life insurance to lapse, check the website of the agency that oversees…
November 10, 2020 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…
September 1, 2020 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…
July 10, 2020 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…
June 16, 2020 Returning residents grapple with overgrown abandoned neighboring properties Some solutions are emerging, but funds are short PARADISE — Abandoned properties overgrown with flammable vegetation vastly out-number new homes under construction in the burn scar, and there’s little cash-strapped local officials can really do. The fire risk caused by overgrown empty lots is putting…
June 1, 2020 Wise UP and save on your insurance Wise UP and save on your insurance As households across the nation look for ways to cut costs while dealing with record job losses and sheltering in place, UP has suggestions for reducing insurance premiums without sacrificing asset protection. – Consider increasing your auto and…
June 1, 2020 Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection — UP’s WRAP Initiative By launching and advancing a “Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection” (WRAP) initiative in 2017, UP is helping property owners across California keep their assets insured during a home insurance availability and affordability crisis that is affecting many parts of the state. This crisis is hitting people hard in…
April 1, 2020 SIPping lemonade -TCB* We all know the bad news. The good news is you may have time to take care of tasks that have long been pushed to the bottom of your “to do” list. Getting your insurance records in order and inventorying your property are two of…
November 1, 2019 Thanks for giving! It’s time to give thanks. We are so grateful to all our supporters who generously give their time, experience, expertise and dollars to help United Policyholders be where we are needed. A special thank you to the volunteers that helped UP tell our story in…
October 30, 2019 Evacuation Tips If you are told to evacuate immediately, do so. If you think you may have to evacuate, we suggest the following ASAP: 1) Document your home and “stuff.” If you do not have a home inventory, create one before you evacuate. Take pictures or a video of each room…
October 30, 2019 Tips for shopping for home insurance in a challenging market It is not uncommon for people to break down in tears after getting a notice that their home insurer is dropping them as a customer. In some cases, it’s tears of frustration that they paid all that money for insurance they never used, or tears…
October 23, 2019 Gov. Newsom signs law requiring home insurers give policyholders more time before cancellations Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed legislation into law that makes insurers give homeowners longer advance notice before canceling their policies. The law increases the minimum time notification for homeowner policy nonrenewals from 45 days to 75 days. However, the change does not go into…
October 21, 2019 There’s a quake every three minutes in California – here’s why we still don’t buy quake insurance ORINDA, Calif. KGO) — Scientists tell us earthquakes strike every three minutes in California — though most of them are so weak we can’t feel them, enough are so big we can’t forget them. So, does living through a quake drive us to buy earthquake…
October 10, 2019 6 ways to dramatically lower your home insurance costs The cost of homeowners insurance is one of those unavoidable expenses that comes along with owning a house. How much you’ll pay for insurance varies depending on your location and the age of your home, but the average annual homeowners insurance premium is $1,200. That…
October 1, 2019 Spooky Language Hiding in Your Insurance? Getting a notice from a home insurer that they’re dropping you is scary, and UP works hard to help people in that situation. Read our latest tips on shopping for affordable home insurance when your options are limited. Just as scary is hearing your insurer…
