Getting Answers: What does State Farm’s updated insurance policy mean for Californians?
Getting Answers: What does State Farm’s updated insurance policy mean for Californians?

When State Farm recently announced it would not accept new home insurance policies in California, it sent a ripple effect throughout the market. The state’s largest property insurer said it would not drop existing customers. People living in the Sierra Foothills know nature and uncertainty…
Insurance consumer advocate group unveils state-by-state guide to insurance legal rights
Insurance consumer advocate group unveils state-by-state guide to insurance legal rights

For Immediate Release:  March 13, 2023 Contact: Amy Bach, Executive Director SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2023 – United Policyholders (UP), a national insurance consumer advocacy non-profit, today announced a major expansion of its services. Insurance company claim adjusters are required to know and follow the…
UP alerts CA legislators to proceed with caution on insurers’ wish list
UP alerts CA legislators to proceed with caution on insurers’ wish list

California consumers have long enjoyed the benefits of property insurance premium savings thanks to the voter-enacted Proposition 103 rate regulation regime, and insurers have long decried that regime. United Policyholders generally focuses on helping consumers get treated fairly by insurers, avoid and solve coverage gaps,…
Marin lawmaker aims to protect home insurance for seniors in fire-prone areas
Marin lawmaker aims to protect home insurance for seniors in fire-prone areas

A bill introduced by Assemblymember Damon Connolly of San Rafael would prohibit home insurance providers from dropping coverage for seniors living in high fire-risk areas and would cap premium hikes. The bill, AB 478, would forbid insurance providers from dropping policies for residents 65 and…
Businesses and Residents Hope for Post-Storm Relief
Businesses and Residents Hope for Post-Storm Relief

Costs continue to add up even with assistance from FEMA and flood insurance When Watsonville resident Amy Thomas reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for help, she had already paid thousands of dollars to repair damages caused by a spate of recent…
After the Storm: Insurance and recovery tips for wind-driven rain, flooding and storm damage
After the Storm: Insurance and recovery tips for wind-driven rain, flooding and storm damage

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 along with the 2023 Winter Storm Disaster Recovery…
FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act
FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act

When disaster hits, FEMA can help communities recover under the Stafford Act (Disasterassistance.gov). If a Disaster Declaration is issued, it can be either a Emergency Declaration (to supplement state, local, and tribal government efforts to provide debris removal and emergency protective measures or to lessen/avert…
CDI Regulations Moving Forward
CDI Regulations Moving Forward

United Policyholders is pleased to share the news that the California Department of Insurance has now announced its intention to formally move forward with its proposed “Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models” regulations.  Once formally adopted, the regulations will legally require insurers to…
Improving Disaster Recovery
Improving Disaster Recovery

UP advocates for expedited insurance payouts and fewer paperwork hassles for disaster survivors. By helping people get the money they need to repair, rebuild and replace with fewer delays, we’re improving their ability to restore the quality of their lives and financial health. This week,…
Cal OES Awards $25 Million in Grants to Local Organizations to Protect Vulnerable Communities from Disasters
Cal OES Awards $25 Million in Grants to Local Organizations to Protect Vulnerable Communities from Disasters

Funding Designed to Increase Disaster Preparedness and Resiliency in Socially Vulnerable Communities Statewide SACRAMENTO, CA – As part of California’s nation-leading effort to build resilience among vulnerable populations living in areas of the state most susceptible to natural disasters, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal…
BACH TALK: A Fairer California Fair Plan
BACH TALK: A Fairer California Fair Plan

State and Federal public officials have protected homeowners by creating insurers of last resort that people can turn to when they’re unable to find a company willing to insure their property. Well known examples are Florida and Louisiana Citizens Insurance Corporations, the National Flood Insurance…
Catch UP on Public Adjusting with Steve Severaid
Catch UP on Public Adjusting with Steve Severaid

In this Catch UP segment, California Public Adjuster Steve Severaid, President at The Greenspan Co./ Adjusters International (Northern California) sits down with Amy Bach to talk about what a Public Adjuster can and can’t do for you if you have a property loss and want…
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?

Your insurance company may be required to maintain your fire coverage if you live in a high-risk area in California — but the law that protects your home can be misinterpreted, as was the case for a Shasta Valley resident after she received a premature…
Regulators unveil wildfire safety plan. Will it fix rural California’s insurance crisis?
Regulators unveil wildfire safety plan. Will it fix rural California’s insurance crisis?

State regulators rolled out a “Safer from Wildfire” program Monday to encourage rural residents and business owners to gird their properties as a way of fixing the insurance crisis that’s plagued the Sierra foothills and other fire-prone areas of California the past few years. The…
Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals
Order protects Mother Lode homeowners from insurance cancellations, non-renewals

California’s insurance commissioner issued an order Wednesday that prevents companies from dropping nearly 210,000 homeowners in areas affected by wildfires this year, including most of Tuolumne County and southern Calaveras County due to the Washington Fire near downtown Sonora on Aug. 26. State Insurance Commissioner…
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…
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account
Family Of 5 Loses Home to Caldor Fire, Lender Failed To Pay Fire Insurance Premiums From Escrow Account

GRIZZLY FLATS (CBS13) – Does your lender pay your fire insurance premiums from an escrow account? Better double-check those payments are being made. A Grizzly Flats family who lost their home to the Caldor Fire learned their lender didn’t pay the fire insurance premiums after their…
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species
Fire insurance policies: an endangered species

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. – With fire season now just peaking and plenty of weeks still to go, we have already racked up California’s worst ever fire season. On a regular basis, homeowners in the urban wildland interface are getting multiple shocks from massive insurance increases, less…