New California law will change how you sign up for home insurance
New California law will change how you sign up for home insurance

Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed a law that gives people an important new option when they sign up for home insurance. Read more.
Many homeowners have a big insurance coverage gap — and don’t even know it
Many homeowners have a big insurance coverage gap — and don’t even know it

Many homeowners have a big gap in their insurance coverage — and they likely don’t know it, according to insurance experts. That leaves policyholders financially exposed to damage, including from natural disasters that are becoming more frequent or costly, such as wildfires, hurricanes and flooding…
Most Homeowners Are Underinsured, Experts Warn
Most Homeowners Are Underinsured, Experts Warn

The size of the shortfall Kenneth Klein, who teaches at California Western School of Law, framed it starkly: “A supermajority of homeowners want to fully and adequately insure their homes, are willing to pay for it, and think they have it. But most of them…
Here’s where thousands of homeowners face higher insurance bills after FEMA updated its flood maps
Here’s where thousands of homeowners face higher insurance bills after FEMA updated its flood maps

These 10 communities have the highest number of properties that were newly mapped into a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. New flood-insurance requirements add to the ever-rising cost of owning a home. The federal government redrew flood maps across America this summer – and it…
A ‘super’ El Nino is about to crash into California: 9 essentail ways to prepare
A ‘super’ El Nino is about to crash into California: 9 essentail ways to prepare

Amid warnings of a wet and potentially destructive winter, The Times asked experts for their best tips to be prepared. Read more.
California announces state of emergency: Record El Niño puts a fresh squeeze on a fragile home insurance market
California announces state of emergency: Record El Niño puts a fresh squeeze on a fragile home insurance market

Governor Gavin Newsom put the entire state under a formal state of emergency on Monday. Federal forecasters now think the El Niño building in the Pacific could be the strongest on record, and for a property insurance market that’s already stretched thin, that’s a bad…
Hurricane Marie Was a Wake-Up Call: Insurance Lessons Californians Can Learn From Floridians
Hurricane Marie Was a Wake-Up Call: Insurance Lessons Californians Can Learn From Floridians

Over Labor Day weekend 2026, Hurricane Marie, churning far out in the Pacific, generated massive swells that battered the Southern California coastline from Malibu to San Diego, destroying infrastructure, damaging homes, and forcing evacuations. And for many homeowners, the damage was just the beginning. Read…
What Better Wildfire Risk Information Can Unlock for Californians
What Better Wildfire Risk Information Can Unlock for Californians

The Community Wildfire Resilience Workgroup, convened in partnership with Resources Legacy Fund, brings together leaders across wildfire science, land use, insurance, finance, and community implementation to advance a coordinated, long-term approach to reducing California’s growing wildfire risk to homes, infrastructure, and other parts of the…
Property insurance faces a new test as disaster losses accelerate
Property insurance faces a new test as disaster losses accelerate

Extreme weather is creating a more demanding environment for property owners, insurers, and communities. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the United States recorded 27 confirmed billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2024, resulting in a total cost of $182.7 billion. These…
Coastal damage and a looming El Niño prompt warnings for homeowners to review insurance coverage
Coastal damage and a looming El Niño prompt warnings for homeowners to review insurance coverage

A series of recent coastal hazards, from sinkholes to beach erosion to waves pushing water onto properties, is raising concerns for Southern California homeowners who may not be covered for the damage they’re seeing. Images of a collapsing driveway and eroding shorelines have unsettled many…
Get this key protection for your home before El Niño hits California
Get this key protection for your home before El Niño hits California

With El Niño expected to bring heavier and more frequent storms to California this winter, homeowners are being urged to consider flood insurance now, since standard home policies generally don’t cover flooding and some flood policies have waiting periods of up to 30 days before…
Last-resort home insurance surges as climate risks grow – Finance & Commerce
Last-resort home insurance surges as climate risks grow – Finance & Commerce

Surplus home insurance is rapidly expanding as traditional insurers retreat from high-risk areas, leaving homeowners with fewer protections. Read more.
The slow climb toward stability in California’s insurance market.
The slow climb toward stability in California’s insurance market.

As wildfires blaze across Big Sur and much of the West, it might be surprising to hear news that the insurance market in California is showing early signs of stabilization. Katie Rodriguez here, sharing with you all a list of takeaways from a statewide insurance…
Exiting California’s FAIR Plan
Exiting California’s FAIR Plan

More than a year and a half after the devastating wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades and four years mired in the state’s insurer of last resort, our reporter’s systematic fire-hardening measures have finally provided an escape hatch. In earlier articles, “An Insurance Journalist’s Perspective…
Who should get flood insurance?
Who should get flood insurance?

Flood insurance may not be top of mind for many this year because hurricane activity in the Atlantic has been unusually quiet. But the traditional peak of the season is arriving, and storms that inundated the Midwest this month are a reminder that inland areas…
How to slash your hurricane insurance premiums by more than a third
How to slash your hurricane insurance premiums by more than a third

Home hurricane insurance that cost $1,000 annually three-to-five years ago could cost more than twice that today. These are sobering statistics for Hawaiʻi residents thinking about updating their insurance policies after seeing the wreckage left by Hurricane Lala this month. Natural disasters around the world…
Hurricane Season Has Been Calm. Should You Have Flood Insurance?
Hurricane Season Has Been Calm. Should You Have Flood Insurance?

Flood insurance may not be top of mind for many this year because hurricane activity in the Atlantic has been unusually quiet. But the traditional peak of the season is arriving, and storms that inundated the Midwest this month are a reminder that inland areas…
With a strong El Niño expected in SoCal, should you consider flood insurance?
With a strong El Niño expected in SoCal, should you consider flood insurance?

El Niño is officially with us, and it’s looking like it’s likely going to be a doozy. The natural global climate pattern temporarily warms the eastern tropical Pacific, causing extreme weather patterns across the globe. A strong El Niño has historically, though not always, been…