First Steps After a Wildfire
First Steps After a Wildfire

If you or someone you know has been affected by the fires, please read our First Steps After a Wildfire.  We encourage you to visit our website throughout the recovery process. This checklist will help keep you on track during this stressful time. We’re rooting…
First Steps After a Tornado
First Steps After a Tornado

United Policyholders is a nonprofit organization that is a voice and an information resource for insurance consumers in all 50 states.  UP has helped guide disaster survivors on the road to recovery since 1991. Use this information with The Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory…
Catch UP on Additional Living Expense (ALE) Alternatives with Natasha O’Flaherty
Catch UP on Additional Living Expense (ALE) Alternatives with Natasha O’Flaherty

Colorado Attorney Natasha O’Flaherty has been assisting wildfire impacted households with insurance matters since a 2020 wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes in her community.  In this Catch UP segment, she discusses approaches she took on behalf of clients who needed help finding temporary housing when…
Should wildfire victims get more insurance money up front? Some lawmakers think so.
Should wildfire victims get more insurance money up front? Some lawmakers think so.

When wildfire struck Grand County, Marjorie Cranston and her husband lost their home of 15 years. The loss was hard enough, Cranston said, without spending months scouring her brain to remember every single item lost in the flames. The 2020 East Troublesome Fire destroyed an estimated 366…
United Policyholders Amy Bach on Marshall Fire Insurance Challenges
United Policyholders Amy Bach on Marshall Fire Insurance Challenges

Click below to listen to the radio interview: 2/3/22 KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM
For people who lost homes in the Marshall Fire, insurance might not cover everything.
For people who lost homes in the Marshall Fire, insurance might not cover everything.

It could be months before many homeowners that lost everything in the Marshall Fire are able to even clean up the debris left by the blaze. In the meantime, many are already girding for battle with their insurance companies. Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway is…
Boulder County fire victims have insurance questions. Here are some answers.
Boulder County fire victims have insurance questions. Here are some answers.

Are you underinsured? (Possibly.) Should you wait for a master builder to redo the whole neighborhood? (No.) Can you get a living expenses check now? (Yes. Do it.) Meanwhile, all Colorado homeowners should do this tuneup. Insurance, when it works, is meant to be restorative.…
Marshall fire victims brace for insurance claims process
Marshall fire victims brace for insurance claims process

Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Division of Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway assured almost 800 residents impacted by the Marshall fire that the state would “fight for consumers” during the insurance claims process. According to some estimates, the insurance costs related to the fire could be…
Guest Blog: First Steps for Recovering
Guest Blog: First Steps for Recovering

Written by Bob Hunnes, Originally published as a Letter to the Editor in the Daily Camera This letter is intended to help anyone who was directly impacted by the Marshall Fire disaster. If this is not pertinent to you, please pass it on to someone…
Virtual Roadmap to Recovery
Virtual Roadmap to Recovery

The shelter in place orders that required so many of us to get comfortable (maybe a little too comfortable) on Zoom enabled us to fine-tune our virtual service delivery and give insured loss victims uninterrupted access to the answers and information they need. Virtually, we…
RCRC partners with United Policyholders to provide wildfire recovery assistance to rural communities
RCRC partners with United Policyholders to provide wildfire recovery assistance to rural communities

Rural County Representatives of California and its affiliated entity, Golden State Finance Authority, have partnered with the non-profit United Policyholders by providing $50,000 in funding to the 2021 California Wildfires Roadmap to Recovery Program to support rural county communities impacted by catastrophic wildfires. The program…
UP shares our story for the 30th Anniversary of the Oakland / Berkeley Firestorm
UP shares our story for the 30th Anniversary of the Oakland / Berkeley Firestorm

United Policyholders was founded in 1991. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Oakland Berkeley Firestorm, UP’s Executive Director Amy Bach shared her story co-founding the nonprofit for the North Hills Phoenix Association Community Comeback: Then and Now video series. This video series delved into…
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida
What Consumers Should Do to Get Fair Claims Payments in the Wake of Hurricane Ida

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today warned consumers to prepare to file claims for damage resulting from Hurricane Ida and offered tips on “how to get all you are entitled to from your insurance company.” CFA believes that Hurricane Ida will produce…
Butte Strong Fund grants for fire recovery include rebuilding, fire mitigation funding
Butte Strong Fund grants for fire recovery include rebuilding, fire mitigation funding

PARADISE — The Butte Strong Fund approved $250,000 for Habitat for Humanity to buy home lots in Paradise for affordable housing in March. Nine grants approved by the North Valley Community Foundation in the past month total $610,805. The grant to Habitat for Humanity of…
Rep. Marsh hosts insurance webinar, legal clinic for fire survivors
Rep. Marsh hosts insurance webinar, legal clinic for fire survivors

Those who lost homes in the Almeda and South Obenchain fires could find advice handling their insurance in a webinar this week and an online clinic next week. Oregon Rep. Pam Marsh of Ashland will host a free online workshop with an insurance focused nonprofit…
Fire Victim Trust to Begin Making First Pro Rata Payments to Fire Victims
Fire Victim Trust to Begin Making First Pro Rata Payments to Fire Victims

March 12, 2021, San Francisco – On Monday, March 15, the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) will begin distributing the first round of pro rata payments toward satisfying the claims of individuals and families who suffered losses in the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires…
Step away from the blowtorch…
Step away from the blowtorch…

The extreme cold, snow, and ice that swept across the U.S. in February 2021 is proof positive that closing the door on 2020 wasn’t a cure-all. If your home or business suffered damage due to freezing or bursting pipes or the weight of snow and ice on the…
Filing an Insurance Claim for Texas Storm Damage? Payouts Hinge on Policy Details
Filing an Insurance Claim for Texas Storm Damage? Payouts Hinge on Policy Details

When the snow and ice melt, many Texans will file insurance claims for the damage. Some will be annoyed that they get nothing for a freezer-full of spoiled meat, while others will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to get money to fix…