4 ways to cope if your employer drops disability insurance coverage
4 ways to cope if your employer drops disability insurance coverage

If you get sick and miss work for several months, don’t be quick to assume that your employer provides enough disability coverage for you to get by. In recent years, a growing number of businesses have been dropping disability insurance for workers, according to a…
Rebuilding—if you don’t know, ask
Rebuilding—if you don’t know, ask

In 2011, a consumer advocacy group, United Policyholders, reported that at least 75 percent of the homeowners affected by the 2007 wildfires in San Bernardino and Riverside counties were underinsured by nearly a quarter of a million dollars. This amazing reality came after the catastrophic…
The 7 most terrifying car insurance words
The 7 most terrifying car insurance words

A car accident or major traffic violation can leave you rattled, but even scarier can be the effect on your car insurance rates . Here are seven words that are sure to send you screaming. 1. Surcharge If you think the embarrassment of causing a…
When it comes to home insurance, read the fine print
When it comes to home insurance, read the fine print

Andi O’Conor has twice lost a home to fire: The first time she was 12, the second time was two years ago. It was Labor Day. She was kayaking hundreds of miles away, when a friend told her about a wildfire near O’Conor’s home on…
Can mortgage lenders hold your insurance money hostage?
Can mortgage lenders hold your insurance money hostage?

If your home has been seriously damaged or destroyed, your insurance company will release a check made out to both you and your mortgage lender to pay for the necessary repairs. “Lenders have a substantial investment in the property, sometimes more than the homeowner, especially…
Consumer Reports Rates Home Insurers
Consumer Reports Rates Home Insurers

Homeowners buy insurance to protect against disaster. But when disaster strikes, your insurer might not live up to your expectations, especially if you have a large claim, according to our survey of 11,250 subscribers who filed claims in the past few years. The greater the…
Larimer County Holds Free Workshop for Fire Survivors on Insurance, Rebuilding & Recovery
Larimer County Holds Free Workshop for Fire Survivors on Insurance, Rebuilding & Recovery

Larimer County will hold a public update meeting for High Park and Woodland Heights Fire survivors on Thursday, August 2 beginning at 6:30p.m. in the Hearing Room, 1st floor, Larimer County Courthouse Offices Building, 200 West Oak Street, Fort Collins for information on how to…
Family: State Farm Forced Us Into Tent, Onto Food Stamps
Family: State Farm Forced Us Into Tent, Onto Food Stamps

Members of a Boulder County family whose home was damaged by smoke during the Four Mile fire say they’re now living in a tent because their insurance company stopped paying for repairs and stopped paying their temporary rent. Linda Tarr and her husband David Doherty…
ConsumerWatch: Hospital Lab Tests May Lead To Expensive Results
ConsumerWatch: Hospital Lab Tests May Lead To Expensive Results

Even for those with health insurance, lab tests can end up costing a fortune if patients don’t ask some questions first. Pamela Campbell knows firsthand. Last year, Campbell’s six-year-old son needed a series of blood tests. The Oakland mother said her pediatrician gave her a…
More public meetings for fire survivors
More public meetings for fire survivors

The recovery process for survivors of the High Park Fire, their homes and land continues. Several workshops are planned to assist in the process. A Colorado State Forest Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Cache La Poudre Middle School, 3515…
Estes Park fire victims learn of help and insurance
Estes Park fire victims learn of help and insurance

Estes Park town administrator Frank Lancaster told victims of the Woodland Heights fire that swept through the High Drive neighborhood June 23, turning 23 homes to soot and dust, that many organizations are available to help them. The burned-out residents attended an informational evening last…
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend

The destruction from the wildfires that are raging in Colorado and elsewhere this summer is unspeakably sad. Hard work lies ahead. To those who will soon begin the excruciating process of inventorying and documenting their losses and those who just want to be educated; the…
Larimer County officials begin to plan for High Park fire recovery work
Larimer County officials begin to plan for High Park fire recovery work

Larimer County will hire a disaster recovery manager for six months to help the county respond to the High Park fire, now at 83,262 acres, 248 homes lost and in its 18th day. As more than 2,000 firefighters continue to battle the blaze, now at…
Wildfire Relief Donations Distributed
Wildfire Relief Donations Distributed

Today the Austin Community Foundation is awarding more than $830,000 in grant money from the Central Texas Wildfire Fund. The money was donated by people from across the country and raised through the “Fire Relief” concert held last October. Nine organizations are receiving between $2,000…
One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into “new” house
One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into “new” house

By Bob Butler, Fellow, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism, and Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer |Each day, after wrapping up work as a streetcar operator, Kisa Holmes drives by to check on the house she bought in the Upper 9th Ward just weeks…
Allstate policy raises roof on prices in Oklahoma
Allstate policy raises roof on prices in Oklahoma

Insurance costs: Oklahoma homeowners could pay more under terms of a new Allstate policy, which no longer pays the full cost of repairing or replacing older roofs. A new type of homeowners’ insurance launched in Oklahoma by Allstate Corp. no longer pays for the full…
Insurers rethink homeowners policies in the wake of major disasters
Insurers rethink homeowners policies in the wake of major disasters

Phillip Berger insured his Maryland home through Allstate for 23 years. But a home disaster forced him to take his business elsewhere, he said. Berger, 58, is not new to property damage or insurer conflict. Years ago, a tornado swept over his home and damaged…
Consumer advocates raise the roof over Allstate’s new home insurance rule
Consumer advocates raise the roof over Allstate’s new home insurance rule

Some homeowners soon may see their insurance-related costs go through the roof. Eventually, Allstate customers with roofs more than 10 years old won’t have the full cost of new roofs covered under their home insurance policies. Allstate’s House & Home program will pay the “actual…