Here’s where to go for help with Mountain Fire recovery
Here’s where to go for help with Mountain Fire recovery

The Mountain Fire has ripped through 20,630 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes and other structures since it sparked in the Somis area, north of Camarillo, on the morning of Nov. 6. By Thursday afternoon, the fire was 82% contained, according to the California…
Officials offer tips to Portola Valley residents struggling to maintain home insurance
Officials offer tips to Portola Valley residents struggling to maintain home insurance

Portola Valley hosted an event to inform local residents about home insurance options and policies, an important topic for a community at risk for wildfires. On Nov. 11, over 60 residents joined a presentation and Q&A with the California Department of Insurance and United Policyholders,…
THE BERKELEY ACTIVISTS’ CALENDAR, November 10-17
THE BERKELEY ACTIVISTS’ CALENDAR, November 10-17

Worth Noting: Monday, November 11, 2024 is the Veteran’s Day Holiday. The agenda for the November 19, 2024 City Council meeting is available for comment. Check City website for meetings posted on short notice https://berkeleyca.gov Go to meetings are: City Council on Tuesday, the Parks…
Homeowners try to move forward when wildfire losses weren’t covered by insurance
Homeowners try to move forward when wildfire losses weren’t covered by insurance

More homeowners across the country are going without insurance. In a dispersed California community, some homeowners are trying to figure out how to move forward when their losses weren’t covered. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: If your home gets wiped out by a natural disaster and you…
Dropped by your insurance company? Here’s what you should do next
Dropped by your insurance company? Here’s what you should do next

Whether you live in the foothills or the suburbs, it’s likely you or someone you know has received a letter of non-renewal from their insurance company. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — ‘Support consumers, not sell them on something,’ is a policy insurance consumer advocate Amy Bach grew…
Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%
Allstate gets OK to raise California home insurance rates by average of 34%

Home insurance is about to get a whole lot more expensive for a lot of people in California. California’s Department of Insurance recently approved Allstate’s request for the largest rate increase the state has seen in the past three years. Homeowners’ insurance will go up…
California homeowners left scrambling as State Farm slashes policies and hikes rates — here’s what this could mean for you
California homeowners left scrambling as State Farm slashes policies and hikes rates — here’s what this could mean for you

The process was described as “ongoing with no timeline for when it could be resolved.” The ongoing climate crisis has increased the frequency and intensity of natural disasters like the recent Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and insurance companies are pulling back coverage from the…
Can a Home Insurer Drop You Due to Aerial Photos? Brace Yourself for It
Can a Home Insurer Drop You Due to Aerial Photos? Brace Yourself for It

Is your insurance company spying on you? Insurers are increasingly using technology such as drones, airplanes and even high-altitude balloons to survey homes from coast to coast. If these companies spot something they don’t like, you could lose homeowners insurance coverage. In late 2023, KGO-TV…
New insurance insights from second series forum hosted by Center for California Real Estate
New insurance insights from second series forum hosted by Center for California Real Estate

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The California Dept. of Insurance and other industry leaders gathered last week to continue statewide conversations around insurance challenges at the forum, “Securing California’s Insurance Market: The Path Forward,” hosted by the Center for California Real Estate.…
State Farm forecasts decline in California policies over the next five years
State Farm forecasts decline in California policies over the next five years

The drop is expected to be around 1 million Insurer State Farm has stated that it was expecting to see the number of policies that it issues in California decline by 2 million by the year 2028, following the financial issues it was encountering, as…
Preparing Vulnerable Communities for Natural Disasters
Preparing Vulnerable Communities for Natural Disasters

During September, which is also National Preparedness Month, CWS’ Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery (EPRR) team dedicated its time to equipping vulnerable communities in northern California with the knowledge and tools they need to survive a disaster. September is also a wildfire season, making the…
State Farm projects dropping 1 million policies in California over next five years
State Farm projects dropping 1 million policies in California over next five years

State Farm is projecting that by 2028, the number of policies it issues in California will drop by 1 million, as the insurance giant grapples with financial distress and pulls back from the Golden State. According to a filing submitted to the California Department of…
Homeowners scramble after insurance company hikes rates following major disasters: ‘Doubles down on the bad news’
Homeowners scramble after insurance company hikes rates following major disasters: ‘Doubles down on the bad news’

With prices continually rising, many people cannot afford to pay for insurance, making them vulnerable to financial damage as well as the risk to life that wildfires bring. What’s happening? The Washington Post reported that Allstate has been approved to raise insurance premiums by 34%…
State Farm Expects to Shed 1M Homeowner Policies in California
State Farm Expects to Shed 1M Homeowner Policies in California

State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, expects to cut 1 million policies to stay financially solvent. The Illinois-based firm, whose trademarked jingle is “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” expects it won’t be here for a third of its statewide property insurance policyholders…
Bonny Doon homeowners to hear from state on insurance crisis
Bonny Doon homeowners to hear from state on insurance crisis

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has accepted an invitation from the Rural Bonny Doon Association to speak at an online forum at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, on the home-insurance crisis facing residents of Santa Cruz County who live in wildfire-prone areas. “All of us…
What to do if you can’t get insurance in California
What to do if you can’t get insurance in California

While plenty of Californians will tell you there’s nowhere they’d rather live, many will also tell you they’re fed up with trying to get affordable home and auto insurance. Still, homeowners insurance is not optional if a house is mortgaged, and all California drivers must…
Coverage shrinks, premiums skyrocket as wildfire risk hits OC multifamily complex
Coverage shrinks, premiums skyrocket as wildfire risk hits OC multifamily complex

At Laguna Village, insurance costs double while damage benefits drop 98% Laguna Village, a townhome community in Laguna Hills, is facing a severe insurance crisis as rising wildfire risks have drastically reduced its coverage while premiums skyrocket. Two years ago, the insurance coverage for the…
California Insurance Commissioner says ‘real change’ coming to homeowners insurance crisis
California Insurance Commissioner says ‘real change’ coming to homeowners insurance crisis

In the last few years, most of California’s major homeowners insurance companies have paused or limited business in the state, citing the rising risk of wildfire, the cost of rebuilding homes and what they consider burdensome state regulations. As a result, hundreds of thousands of…