California fires an insurance wake-up call
California fires an insurance wake-up call

Many homeowners in California have discovered that their homes that were destroyed by recent wildfires were underinsured. So who is to blame, the homeowners or insurance agents? When Dave Wilder and his wife, Lynn, surveyed the remains of their house after it burned to the…
Expert Advice On Talking To Insurance Companies
Expert Advice On Talking To Insurance Companies

Dealing with an insurance company is never on anyone’s list of favorite things to do, but you’ll be more successful if you know how to make your case when filing a claim. That includes what not to say to your insurance company. Charles Thomas still…
Tips To Get Your Insurance Claim Approved
Tips To Get Your Insurance Claim Approved

San Francisco, California – Insurance companies are in the business of making money. So consumers need to know these tips to avoid getting the runaround. Charles Thomas still isn’t sure which was worse: The fire that broke out on the deck of his San Francisco…
Underinsured wildfire victims feel burned again
Underinsured wildfire victims feel burned again

Some policyholders believe companies deliberately sold them less coverage than they would need to rebuild. An industry group says the issue is overblown. When Dave Wilder and his wife, Lynn, surveyed the remains of their Running Springs house after it burned to the ground in…
UP wildfire recovery resources featured in The Rotary Club of Montecito
UP wildfire recovery resources featured in The Rotary Club of Montecito

The Tea Fire is out but many of our neighbors are just beginning the process of putting their lives back together from the ashes that remain. Montecito Rotary Club President-elect shared the following information from Karen Reimus, who has experience in the aftermath of fire…
We’re Covered! Fire Insurers Say They Can Handle Claims
We’re Covered! Fire Insurers Say They Can Handle Claims

LOS ANGELES– Experts say insurance companies are sufficiently well capitalized to handle the flood of claims that will arise from the Southland’s latest wildfires, it was reported today. “The majority of those who lost their homes do not need to worry about the solvency of…
Poizner rule changes criticized as a nod to insurance industry
Poizner rule changes criticized as a nod to insurance industry

SACRAMENTO – Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner rode to victory in 2006 partly on the effects of a TV ad ridiculing his opponent, Cruz Bustamante, for taking bagloads of cash from the industry he wanted to regulate. Two years later, Poizner has held firm to his…
Increasingly Unavailable and Unaffordable’: Home Insurance Threatened Amid Wildfire Crisis
Increasingly Unavailable and Unaffordable’: Home Insurance Threatened Amid Wildfire Crisis

David Bevacqua never had trouble insuring a home in California, but he was in for a rude surprise after recently buying a house in Bass Lake, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. “None of the insurance companies would quote me,” he said. “I didn’t know what…
Paperwork, Pain, and the Long Road Back: The Ins and Outs of the Post-Wildfire Insurance Tango
Paperwork, Pain, and the Long Road Back: The Ins and Outs of the Post-Wildfire Insurance Tango

By Ethan Stewart December 10, 2009 In the past 13 months, the foothills above Santa Barbara and Montecito have seen two ferocious fires tear through their countryside. Ravaging storied neighborhoods such as Mountain Drive, Coyote Road, and San Roque Canyon, the Tea and Jesusita fires…
Poizner Hails Recovery From Fires, Says Most Claims Are Resolved
Poizner Hails Recovery From Fires, Says Most Claims Are Resolved

ESCONDIDO — Standing in front of an Escondido home that rose from the ashes of the 2007 wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said yesterday that the pain of post-fire recovery and rebuilding has finally ended for most of the victims. Poizner, who is running…
UP Press Conference Highlights Ongoing Insurance Claim Problems
UP Press Conference Highlights Ongoing Insurance Claim Problems

“TWICE BURNED” WHAT: 2008 Freeway Complex Fire Survivors from Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills hold press conference as they face one-year fire anniversary to discuss insurance obstacles to rebuilding and call for action WHEN: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 10:00 am WHERE: 475 S. Laureltree…
On The Road To Recovery
On The Road To Recovery
Wildfire Victims Find Rebuilding Hard
Wildfire Victims Find Rebuilding Hard

First came the fire, jumping the freeway and moving with such ferocity that Brian Stanley and his then-4-year-old son didn’t have time to put on shoes as they ran out of their burning house. The looters came next, combing the ashes for jewelry and valuables,…
2008 Freeway Express Fire Survivor Community Calls For Action As They Face The One Year Fire Anniversary
2008 Freeway Express Fire Survivor Community Calls For Action As They Face The One Year Fire Anniversary

“TWICE BURNED” Press Conference Speakers: Karen Reimus, ’03 Cedar Fire Survivor and Outreach Coordinator for United Policyholders, a nonprofit organization Patrick Craft, ’08 Freeway Complex Fire Survivor – Anaheim Hills Karla Rinskopf, ’08 Freeway Complex Fire Survivor – Yorba Linda Edward Pajarito, ’08 Freeway Complex…
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage

The California Department of Insurance CDI) has secured between $37 million and $46 million in additional coverage from AIG for Sayre Fire survivors in Sylmar. Commissioner Poizner was joined by Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón; Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders and a…
Disappearing Disability Insurance Fails Family
Disappearing Disability Insurance Fails Family

There’s no question that Jay Thompson is disabled. Three years, at age 44, he developed ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now he lays immobilized in a hospital bed. So the question is: What happened to his disability insurance? “We believed that it would take care…
Fire Insurance Explained
Fire Insurance Explained

With stories ranging from “My insurance company is just being too good to be true” to “I’ve been with my insurance company for 21 years, never made a claim, just lost my house, and now they’ve cancelled me,” about 50 Jesusita and Tea fire survivors…
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork

The wildfire survivor profiled in this Orange County Register article has been attending United Policyholders’ Roadmap to Recovery meetings and was pictured in our spring newsletter receiving her copy of the Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide. Readers mourned and complained when we ended…