August 1, 2024 Guest Blog: Navigating My Safe Florida Home Program I noticed my neighbor had just replaced her windows and not only did they look nice, but also strong. To my surprise she told me she had been motivated to make the changes due to a State Program that reimbursed her for two thirds of…
July 10, 2024 5 questions with Tahoe Truckee Community Organizations Active in Disaster Even this week, with the Royal Fire, we’ve seen an example of the risk Tahoe faces when it comes to disasters. Nonprofits and community-based organizations are a key partner to the county when disaster strikes, often supporting vulnerable residents with disabilities or other challenges. This…
June 26, 2024 Strategies for staying protected In the past, insurance companies were insuring homes, regardless of their age and condition. That has changed dramatically thanks in part to new technologies that pinpoint risk factors. Many Americans today, particularly those with older homes, are having the unpleasant experience of getting turned down…
May 31, 2024 How to stay in the know? Ask any person who’s survived a disaster and they’ll give you solid preparedness advice. UP’s consumer guidance draws heavily on those insights. And while survivors won’t all agree on what to have in your “go bag,” everyone agrees on the value of timely emergency alerts.…
May 15, 2024 GUEST BLOG: Replacement Cost Estimates: A Crucial Aspect of Home Insurance This guest blog was written by Matt Everson, co-owner of BW Builder and a United Policyholders’ professional volunteer. Has your application at the California Fair Plan stalled? Are you finding it hard to figure out why? It might be because Fair Plan requires a Replacement…
May 10, 2024 City of Scotts Valley hosts wildfire preparedness, homeowners insurance workshop Tuesday City of Scotts Valley is hosting a free community Wildfire Preparedness and Homeowners Insurance Workshop on Tuesday, May 14, from 6-8pm at the Scotts Valley Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 251 Kings Village Road. This event is dedicated to educating the public on crucial measures…
May 9, 2024 Guest Column | Fifth District May Highlights: Community Events, Progress on Key Issues and Budget Talks May is shaping up to be busy in the Fifth District with several great community events and notable progress on important issues. On May 11, the 27th annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards will be at Scotts Valley High School. This is a special opportunity for…
March 6, 2024 Catch UP on Insurance for Repairing Flood Damage with David Maurstad In this Catch UP segment, Amy Bach talks to David Maurstad about Flood Insurance. David Maurstad is FEMA’s Assistant Administrator of Federal Insurance Directorate and Senior Executive of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
February 21, 2024 Pet Insurance 101 If you have a fur baby or pet of any kind, pet insurance will help you avoid getting stuck with a shocking vet bill after an accident, illness or having to put your pet down because you can’t afford treatment. Buying it when your pet…
October 9, 2023 Is the lack of flood insurance coverage the next coverage crisis for California? Thousands of homes may be at risk of flooding, but few are covered against this type of catastrophe. Though we tend to think of wildfires as the main risk to property owners in California, climate change and a majority of homes without flood insurance could…
October 4, 2023 Could flooding fuel CA’s next insurance crisis? What data shows for thousands of Bay Area homes Climate change is predicted to drive increasing sea level rise across the country in the coming decades — and thousands of families in the Bay Area are unprepared for the flooding impacts. The ABC7 data journalism team analyzed data from the First Street Foundation, a…
October 4, 2023 Flooding and water resources for Southern California Want to know what the flood risk is in your area or how to protect your home during a storm? Check out the resources below. Want to know what the flood risk is in your area? What about how to protect your home and family…
September 29, 2023 Mitigation Matters No matter where you live, if you’re a homeowner today, you need to do your best to maintain your property and take steps to avoid it being damaged or destroyed in a severe weather event. Why? 1) No place on earth is immune from risk…
September 28, 2023 County hosts webinar on homeowners insurance The current crisis of property insurance affordability and availability that’s impacting homeowners, as well as options for keeping homes protected, are the subjects of a county-wide public webinar. Read more.
September 22, 2023 How Your Insurance Rates are Set in California The following was written by Joel Laucher, a former regulator and United Policyholders’ staff member whose work is focused on wildfire risk reduction and appropriate insurance rewards for mitigation. Prior to joining Team UP, Joel rose through the ranks at the California Department of Insurance…
August 28, 2023 Americans Are Bailing on Their Home Insurance Homeowners are increasingly forgoing home insurance, gambling that the likelihood of a disaster isn’t high enough to justify the cost of a policy Some skipping insurance say they are doing so because they can no longer afford the rising premiums. The national average for home…
July 28, 2023 Rolling with the policy punches UPdated shopping tips Our guidance on shopping for property insurance has been focused on helping consumers select from competing options and avoid underinsuring their assets. For reasons we explained in last month’s tip, a growing number of people across the United States are now scrambling…
July 27, 2023 Press Release: Rural Representatives and Consumer Group partner to address California’s regional home insurance crisis Rural Representatives and Consumer Group partner to address California’s regional home insurance crisis For Immediate Release: July 26th, 2023 Contact: Amy Bach, Executive Director, media@uphelp.org SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2023 – To assist the thousands of California residents in rural and…
