Creak! Crackle! Pop! Does insurance cover fallen tree branches?
Creak! Crackle! Pop! Does insurance cover fallen tree branches?

Are you hearing unexpected cracking sounds from outside? Texas tree branches have been crashing under the weight of ice. If one falls on your house or car, use these tips: Take photos of the damage before you move the tree, make repairs, or take other…
Winter storm recovery and insurance: Baby, it’s cold…
Winter storm recovery and insurance: Baby, it’s cold…

Collecting insurance funds to pay for damage from heavy rains and localized flooding can be tricky. Insurers have been excluding floods in standard home policies since the 1960s, but the cost of repairing damage from water intrusion due to wind-driven rain, fallen trees, flying debris,…
Catch UP on Water and Mold Damage with Kris Griffith
Catch UP on Water and Mold Damage with Kris Griffith

In this Catch UP segment, restoration and remediation contractor Kristofer Griffith of Anderson Group International shares insights on water and mold damage repairs and insurance.    
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…
Devastated by storms and denied by insurance, Lompico residents navigate uncertain recovery
Devastated by storms and denied by insurance, Lompico residents navigate uncertain recovery

Since a colossal New Year’s Eve storm caused part of the hillside that his house sits on to collapse, Benjamin Short has been in a constant daily battle to save his home. The Dec. 31 storm and waves of atmospheric rivers that hit Santa Cruz…
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…
Video: Why few California homeowners have flood insurance
Video: Why few California homeowners have flood insurance

Something doesn’t compute. Some 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow has fallen in California since Christmas. Yet, only about 2% of properties are covered against flooding, according to the Associated Press. Thats means only 230,000 homes and other buildings have flood insurance policies, which…
Damaged by the Santa Cruz storms? Tips from the pros on how to deal with insurance
Damaged by the Santa Cruz storms? Tips from the pros on how to deal with insurance

Just days after the end of a historic series of damaging storms, Santa Cruz County residents are trying to pick up the pieces. One of those pieces is navigating the world of insurance. To help residents get started, several local organizations have hosted information sessions…
California just got slammed with a series of severe storms but only about 2% of properties are covered by flood insurance
California just got slammed with a series of severe storms but only about 2% of properties are covered by flood insurance

On Sunday morning, Kyle Starks woke up to floodwaters that reached the door of his Jeep after yet another heavy rain storm drenched California. Emergency crews showed up with boats to float Starks and other residents of his rural mobile home park in Acampo to…
Financial help available for California storm victims, but it can be difficult to get
Financial help available for California storm victims, but it can be difficult to get

Soon after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the areas of California besieged by a series of atmospheric river storms on Jan. 9—a move that allowed victims to request financial help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency—Watsonville resident Amy Thomas reached out to…
Deciding to Rebuild After a Fire Is Just the First Step
Deciding to Rebuild After a Fire Is Just the First Step

Four years after the devastating Woolsey fire, Malibu residents who lost everything are still waiting for approvals, and contending with complicated mortgage and insurance processes, underlining what starting over really costs. To step into Barbara Ferris’s new house, you have to first grapple with what…
California Court Gives Policyholders a Boost: Appellate Panel Publishes Pro-Policyholder COVID-19 Decision
California Court Gives Policyholders a Boost: Appellate Panel Publishes Pro-Policyholder COVID-19 Decision

This is the case of Shusha Inc. v. Century-National Insurance Co., in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District. A recent decision by a California state appellate panel has given hope to policyholders seeking insurance coverage for their COVID-19-related losses.…
Insurance denied: More Coloradans can’t get homeowner’s insurance because of wildfire risk
Insurance denied: More Coloradans can’t get homeowner’s insurance because of wildfire risk

More and more Colorado homeowners across the state are being denied homeowners insurance because of wildfire risk. Now, the state insurance commissioner, state lawmakers, and homeowners are working together on a solution, as the insurance industry issues a warning. Colorado homeowners being denied insurance On…
Storm recovery: Find resources here as Santa Cruz County agencies, community groups scramble to coordinate
Storm recovery: Find resources here as Santa Cruz County agencies, community groups scramble to coordinate

Santa Cruz County community organizations and government agencies are scrambling to both respond to current urgent storm-related conditions as well as provide recovery resources. Several organizations and officials are providing info sessions on filing claims Thursday and Friday, starting at 4 p.m. each day, while…
Meetings educate public on insurance, resources after floods
Meetings educate public on insurance, resources after floods

When filing an insurance claim for damage incurred during the recent storms, property owners are advised never to use the word “flood.” Insurance companies—driven by profit and therefore disinclined to part with their money—typically categorically deny claims for flood damage. That was among the advice…
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…
Preschool and neighbors in San Francisco’s Mission facing major storm damage repairs
Preschool and neighbors in San Francisco’s Mission facing major storm damage repairs

One of the biggest impacts from the pouring rain is now showing up as damage to private property. For a preschool in a residential neighborhood in San Francisco’s Mission District, damage to a retaining wall has left young students without a playground and neighbors without…
Sneaky ways inflation affects your money in 2023
Sneaky ways inflation affects your money in 2023

Here are a few of the less well-known changes this year — some that could hurt your wallet, and others that could help. By now, you’re probably familiar with the more obvious ways inflation affects your finances. Your money doesn’t go as far at the…