Insurance Companies Are Abandoning Homeowners Facing Climate Disasters
Insurance Companies Are Abandoning Homeowners Facing Climate Disasters

Insurance companies are leaving homeowners at the mercy of climate catastrophes they helped create. Major insurance companies are choosing to protect the fossil fuel industry while abandoning homeowners whose safety and livelihoods are being threatened by the industry’s carbon emissions. Insurance giants Chubb, Liberty Mutual,…
UP Launches 2022 California Home Insurance Survey
UP Launches 2022 California Home Insurance Survey

California Homeowners: Take the Home Insurance Survey Today www.uphelp.org/CAhomeSurvey   To help the thousands of Californians who are having trouble keeping their homes insured for a price they can afford, United Policyholders has launched a California Home Insurance Survey.  This survey will be open for…
Marshall fire victims brace for insurance claims process
Marshall fire victims brace for insurance claims process

Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Division of Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway assured almost 800 residents impacted by the Marshall fire that the state would “fight for consumers” during the insurance claims process. According to some estimates, the insurance costs related to the fire could be…
The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home
The Wildfire List: 13 Home Improvement Steps to Harden Your Home

After a year of work, our WRAP working group issued a list of 13 home improvement steps that we believe should be the official standards for a wildfire prepared home. Here are the 13 recommendations from an array of experts in residential wildfire risk reduction.…
Virtual Roadmap to Recovery
Virtual Roadmap to Recovery

The shelter in place orders that required so many of us to get comfortable (maybe a little too comfortable) on Zoom enabled us to fine-tune our virtual service delivery and give insured loss victims uninterrupted access to the answers and information they need. Virtually, we…
Deadly mudslides threaten more Americans as heavy rains loom over scorched lands
Deadly mudslides threaten more Americans as heavy rains loom over scorched lands

A flash of light from an exploding transformer stopped Jerry Wilkerson in his tracks. The 79-year-old retiree was just pulling onto the bridge separating him from his family cabin in Poudre Canyon, Colorado, when he watched in shock as a 10-foot wall of sludge roared…
Some California homeowners in fire-prone areas face steep insurance increase
Some California homeowners in fire-prone areas face steep insurance increase

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Across the state, homeowners are preparing for what could be another long wildfire season. Last year broke records for fires in the state, with more than four million acres burned, and this year has already seen hundreds more fires than the…
With Start of Hurricane Season, It’s Time to Consider Flood Insurance
With Start of Hurricane Season, It’s Time to Consider Flood Insurance

Most policies are issued by the government, which plans to change the way it prices its policies in the fall to better reflect climate risks. This year’s hurricane season began early, with a named storm forming before the official start on June 1, and it is expected…
Cracking the Code
Cracking the Code

From time to time, state and local building codes get updated to meet current safety and energy efficiency standards. If you own an existing home, you don’t need to worry about paying for upgrades to comply with those new codes unless you’re making major repairs…
Evacuation Tips
Evacuation Tips

If you are told to evacuate immediately, do so.  If you think you may have to evacuate, we suggest the following ASAP: 1) Document your home and “stuff.” If you do not have a home inventory, create one before you evacuate.  Take pictures or a video of each room…
Deadlines and Decisions at the One Year Anniversary: 2017 North Bay Fires
Deadlines and Decisions at the One Year Anniversary: 2017 North Bay Fires

This is a reminder to all households impacted by the 2017 North Bay Fires. Policies typically contain deadlines for submitting documentation of your losses and for filing a lawsuit against your insurer. You’ll most likely find language in your policies that require you to submit…
Tips from the Trenches: June 2009
Tips from the Trenches: June 2009

With the hot summer months approaching, and grim predictions of droughts in California and other western states, we’re anticipating a bad wildfire season. The wildfire that just destroyed 80 more homes in Santa Barbara is proof. Read UP’s new “Preparedness Tips from the Trenches” for…
The New Lawyer — How Settlement Strategies And Opportunities Have Affected The Responsibilities And Functions Of Litigation Counsel
The New Lawyer — How Settlement Strategies And Opportunities Have Affected The Responsibilities And Functions Of Litigation Counsel

By Guy O. Kornblum, San Francisco, California Anyone who has been involved in the dispute-resolution mechanism knows what a laborious and often mysterious process it can be.  Mediation allows the parties involved in the dispute to sidestep the litigation process, while also getting results.  Because…
Partnering with the Red Cross; Great grant news
Partnering with the Red Cross; Great grant news

We’re excited to report that UP is partnering with Red Cross chapters in San Bernardino County and in the Bay Area.  The goal of the partnerships is to encourage property owners to be insurance/disaster prepared and take advantage UP’s free tools to inventory property and…
Legislative victories for consumers in New York and Missouri
Legislative victories for consumers in New York and Missouri

After many trips to the State Capital, New York Attorney Jon Wilkofsky, (Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel and Cummins along with Ron Papa (Nat’l Fire Adjustment Co.) and others, finally succeeded in getting an appraisal bill passed and signed in the Empire State.  The bill allows a policyholder to go to…
Home Sweet (Insured, New) Home
Home Sweet (Insured, New) Home

If you’re in the market to buy a home, So Cal Farmers Agent Ross Allen Veckey offers this advice: Research insurance costs BEFORE submitting an offer, get comparison quotes, and don’t rely on your realtor or loan officer to arrange for the coverage. Veckey writes: Buying a…
The inside scoop on health care reform
The inside scoop on health care reform

The official title of the law that’s being referred to as “health care reform” is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”).   Some of PPACA’s provisions are on a fast track toward implementation; others will be phased in more gradually.  The fast…
What’s UP with Health Care Reform?
What’s UP with Health Care Reform?

The changes we’ll see in our health care and insurance system as a result of the historic PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) legislation that was signed into law by President Obama in March 2010 will be implemented in phases. State insurance regulators, the…