Desperate California homeowners turning to the Fair Plan for insurance, but facing severe delays
Desperate California homeowners turning to the Fair Plan for insurance, but facing severe delays

The delays are forcing them to go uninsured, so mortgage lenders are putting them on force-placed insurance, which can cost thousands of dollars a month Lloyd Messineo’s Simi Valley home is surrounded by beautiful hills. But those hills are now creating a problem. “We thought…
Caught in the Crossfire: One Homeowner’s Battle with California’s Overwhelmed Insurance System
Caught in the Crossfire: One Homeowner’s Battle with California’s Overwhelmed Insurance System

When Lloyd Messineo’s homeowners insurance was abruptly dropped due to wildfire risk, he found himself ensnared in a bureaucratic labyrinth. Turning to the California FAIR Plan as a last resort, he faced inexplicable delays and costly force-placed insurance. His story underscores a larger issue that…
Hurricane in California hits homeowners already facing insurance crisis
Hurricane in California hits homeowners already facing insurance crisis

This week’s hurricanes in California hit a part of the US that was already struggling with a home insurance crisis. Insurance costs have become too high in most of California, with some insurers leaving the market, unwilling to take the risks posed by the frequency…
Storms in California hit homeowners already facing an insurance crisis
Storms in California hit homeowners already facing an insurance crisis

The storms pummeling California this week hit a part of the US already being battered by a home insurance crisis. Insurance costs in much of California have become exceedingly high, with some insurers abandoning the market, unwilling to take on the risk presented by the…
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation

By Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders So far 2024 has brought more bad news for property owners, public officials, lenders and home builders on the insurance availability and affordability fronts with non-renewals, scant options and high premiums. Front page news across the country. Rate…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…

If you own a home, we suggest putting “make risk reduction improvements” on your New Year’s resolution list. Taking steps to make it less likely that severe weather or a wildfire will damage your home is more important than ever. Insurers have added new coverage…
Call Kurtis: What to do if your home insurance company drops you?
Call Kurtis: What to do if your home insurance company drops you?

The Hartford Insurance is the latest company to say it will stop writing new homeowners’ policies in California starting Feb. 1. It cites challenges in the market, especially with the California fire risk. The industry says it’s struggled to get the Department of Insurance to…
ReCoverCA Owner-Occupied Mitigation (OOM) Grant
ReCoverCA Owner-Occupied Mitigation (OOM) Grant

Grant Alert:  ReCoverCA Owner-Occupied Mitigation (OOM) Grant: Open Learn more here: https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants/wildfire-prevention-grants (Scroll down to OOM Grant) 2020 Eligible Counties Include: Butte, Santa Cruz, Solano, Fresno, Los Angeles, Napa, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Sonoma counties. Thank you Brittany Halfhide, ReCoverCA, for sharing this opportunity with our WRAP…
Uninsurable Homes Are Climate Change’s Latest Victims In The California and Florida Housing Markets
Uninsurable Homes Are Climate Change’s Latest Victims In The California and Florida Housing Markets

In a world grappling with extreme weather events and shifting insurance trends, the once-assured protection of homeowners’ insurance is becoming a luxury that many can’t afford. The housing markets in climate risk-prone states like California and Florida are facing an unprecedented crisis, as insurers grapple…
The least affordable housing market in more than a generation is facing another threat: Uninsurable properties
The least affordable housing market in more than a generation is facing another threat: Uninsurable properties

Garret Gray sort of laughs when he tells Fortune about how his house in a Los Angeles canyon was nearly uninsurable. Surrounded by brush, “it’s got a really bad CoreLogic fire score,” he says. And he should know: As the president of CoreLogic’s global insurance…
California should require insurers to cover homeowners who protect property, advocate says
California should require insurers to cover homeowners who protect property, advocate says

Carmen Balber, the executive director of the advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog, said she came to Sacramento recently to pitch legislators and their staff on a plan she hopes will help some Californians keep their property insurance. She wants lawmakers to require that companies sell policies…
State Farm to raise homeowners rates in California
State Farm to raise homeowners rates in California

Adjustment driven by “increased costs and risk” State Farm policyholders in California are bracing for higher home insurance premiums after regulators approved a rate increase for the insurance giant this year. The approved 20% adjustment applies to renewed policies and will be effective from March…
Getting Insured: Tips for finding home insurance in California
Getting Insured: Tips for finding home insurance in California

A new court ruling could give homeowners slightly more choices under the California Fair Plan, but experts say that could take time. If 2024 is the year you can finally buy a new home, the next and maybe even greater challenge could very well be…
State Farm homeowner insurance rates to skyrocket
State Farm homeowner insurance rates to skyrocket

Customers with home insurance policies through State Farm will soon pay higher premiums after California granted a rate hike. State Farm insures one in five homes in the Golden State. Its policyholders will see an average increase of 20% beginning March 15. However, pro-consumer United…
California’s largest home insurer to hike rates this year
California’s largest home insurer to hike rates this year

California’s largest home insurer will raise rates by an average of 20% this year. The California Department of Insurance approved State Farm’s request to increase rates for policies that are being renewed, a State Farm spokesperson confirmed. The new rates take effect March 15. “These…
Advice From A Fire Survivor: ‘I Learned A Lot’
Advice From A Fire Survivor: ‘I Learned A Lot’

Don’t rush into things, especially major decisions. You have plenty of time. I was a board member for Coffey Strong which was formed after our fire to help our neighborhood, Coffey Park, recover. I now work for United Policyholders, which is a nonprofit that has…
State Farm raising insurance rates 20% for California customers in new year
State Farm raising insurance rates 20% for California customers in new year

State Farm customers across California are facing a 20% rate hike starting March 15, 2024 after California Department of Insurance officials greenlit the insurance giant’s new rates. The announcement comes months after State Farm General Insurance Company stopped accepting new California homeowners as customers because…
Crisis on the Availability and Affordability of Wildfire Insurance
Crisis on the Availability and Affordability of Wildfire Insurance

At the California State Association of Counties’ (CSAC) annual meeting in November, where I serve as the County’s representative, I moderated an informational panel titled “Fire Insurance Crisis: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going.” The panel included Deputy Commissioner of Community Relations and…