What to know: California approves State Farm’s emergency rate hike request
What to know: California approves State Farm’s emergency rate hike request

State Farm, California’s largest property insurer, won a first-of-its-kind emergency approval on Tuesday to quickly hike rates on more than a million homeowners and renters insurance policies. State Farm said it needs the emergency rate hike, by more than 15%, because the Los Angeles-area fires…
California approves State Farm’s request for 17% premium increase for homeowners
California approves State Farm’s request for 17% premium increase for homeowners

State Farm can soon start raising premiums by 17% for its California home insurance customers. State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved the rate hike Tuesday. California’s top insurance regulator said Tuesday that State Farm can soon start raising premiums by 17% for all of its…
What to Do if You’re Underinsured After a Wildfire
What to Do if You’re Underinsured After a Wildfire

After a wildfire, some homeowners experience a second shock when they open their policy and discover their insurance won’t cover the full cost to rebuild. If your policy limit is too low to restore your home, you’re considered underinsured, and it’s a problem that affects…
What is the state of California’s home insurance market?
What is the state of California’s home insurance market?

A panel of insurance and risk professionals convened in Sacramento last week to discuss the state of California’s homeowners insurance market. The event, hosted by the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE), focused on issues related to insurance availability, pricing and long-term risk mitigation. Panelists…
California home insurance costs likely to continue rising for years to come, says expert panel
California home insurance costs likely to continue rising for years to come, says expert panel

Leading housing insurance experts gathered in Sacramento last week for a panel discussion around the state’s home insurance crisis hosted by the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE). Among key insights shared by panelists, Stanford University Climate & Energy Policy Director Michael Wara predicted California’s…
L.A. fire survivors accuse State Farm of delaying claims. Should it get OK for a rate hike?
L.A. fire survivors accuse State Farm of delaying claims. Should it get OK for a rate hike?

Rossana Valverde’s Pasadena home of 35 years is still standing after Los Angeles County’s devastating January fires — but more than 100 days later, she and her husband still can’t move back in. That’s because they’re waiting for their insurer, State Farm, to approve and…
Insurance ‘re-underwriting’ is on the rise in California. Here’s how I fought State Farm and won
Insurance ‘re-underwriting’ is on the rise in California. Here’s how I fought State Farm and won

State Farm, my home insurer for the past 25 years, recently wrote to enumerate several “positive measures that should be taken to reduce the risk for loss.” That sounded positive enough — until I read that if my husband and I didn’t comply, including installing…
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling
California High Court Refuses to Nix Fire Smoke Insurance Ruling

Insurance coverage for wildfire debris damage will remain limited under California law after the state’s high court denied requests to depublish an appeals court ruling favoring insurers. Consumer and policyholder groups filed their requests to depublish just days after a California insurance regulator issued a…
Residents whose homes survived the wildfires are facing issues with their insurance claims
Residents whose homes survived the wildfires are facing issues with their insurance claims

People whose homes survived the deadly Eaton and Palisades fires are considered the lucky ones while they are surrounded by neighbors who lost everything. Those residents worry their homes may never be safe to live in again. Some very dangerous materials burned in the fires,…
County hosts first wildfire preparedness fair
County hosts first wildfire preparedness fair

Fluffy service dogs, Smokey Bear, Cal Fire’s Captain Cal and more than 400 people milled about the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo on Saturday, April 26, for the county’s first event to equip the public with practical information for preparing for a…
‘Deny, deny, deny’: The shady insurance scheme fleecing thousands of homeowners
‘Deny, deny, deny’: The shady insurance scheme fleecing thousands of homeowners

As insurers flee the state, once-obscure, unregulated carriers have stepped up to take their place. And they’re denying an extraordinary number of claims. Michelle Fuller banked everything on the three-bedroom Victorian on 15th Street in the Castro, which she bought in 2005 for $985,000. After…
Wildfire survivors are finding out they are underinsured after losing their homes
Wildfire survivors are finding out they are underinsured after losing their homes

As many as two-thirds of fire victims are uninsured or underinsured, according to the consumer advocates at the non-profit United Policyholders. Most people don’t know the ins and outs of their homeowner’s insurance policy, and even if they do, they often buy it and let…
To whom it may concern…
To whom it may concern…

Submitting comments on proposed changes to your state’s insurance laws is a no-cost way of helping protect yourself as a consumer. Your insurance company is making their voice heard – you can too! There are many proposals making their way through state legislatures across the country today that relate to the…
Lessons Shared at the County’s First Wildfire Preparedness Event
Lessons Shared at the County’s First Wildfire Preparedness Event

When Heather Vandenberghe saw plumes of smoke blown by 80-mph Santa Ana winds, she listened “to that little voice in my head.” She packed her daughter and her dogs and a few essentials into her car and headed out of Los Angeles’s Palisades area in…
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis
California moves to create public wildfire algorithm to ease insurance crisis

Fire and insurance experts convened on Tuesday to help California take a step toward solving its insurance issues with big data. “We are here to try to tackle a crisis.,” said panelist Amy Bach, who heads the nonprofit advocacy group United Policyholders in San Francisco.…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades fire on television, when a neighbor knocked on the door. He wanted them to see it: flames in the mountains in nearby Eaton Canyon. Within…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Losing your home in a disaster when you’re at or near retirement age can derail your finances and jeopardize the funds you were counting on. Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades…
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says

After seeing his premiums quadruple in the past three years, Shawn Faircloth wondered if a new wildfire designation could spell yet another insurance hike for his San Juan Capistrano home. “I’m assuming they will leverage up my rates even more,” said Faircloth, 49, whose home…