November 18, 2015 Thanks Mom and Dad! One of the first pieces of the Affordable Care Act to take effect was the rule that lets young adults stay insured under their parent’s health plan until they turn 26. This has been a huge help to many families. But when a dependent ages…
November 6, 2015 If you don’t have to buy flood insurance, should you? The Federal Emergency Management Agency is encouraging Californians to buy flood insurance before El Niño hits, even if they live in low- to moderate-risk areas where it’s not required by lenders. “If there was ever a time to buy flood insurance, this is the time,”…
November 4, 2015 Treasury Names 12 to Federal Insurance Advisory Committee The U.S. Department of the Treasury has named 12 individuals including several insurance industry executives, a professor, a consumer advocate and six state regulators to serve on the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance FACI). The FACI was established to provide a source for consumers and…
November 1, 2015 Gulf Coast Insurance UPrising Vacant homes, “For Sale” signs, public protests, and media coverage over the past ten years are the visible signs that home and business owners in Eastern and Southern coastal areas are really struggling to pay their rising insurance premiums. The cost of home insurance in…
October 31, 2015 El Niño El Uh Oh East Coasters and Mexican citizens breathed sighs of relief at Joaquin and Patricia’s relatively moderate impact, but West Coast residents continue to brace for predicted heavy El Niño rains this winter. Recent mudflows stranded hundreds of cars in the Los Angeles area. Buy sandbags and…
October 27, 2015 Host of factors contributed to Hurricane Sandy claims fallout The lawsuit and judge’s remarks made the headlines, but a deeper investigation into the issues involved in many Hurricane Sandy claims finds that while there may have been underpaid claims, a host of factors contributed to the underpayments. “Many homes were damaged by Sandy and…
October 26, 2015 What’s the point? A “use it and lose it” UPdate Most people pay their home, business, and renters insurance premiums for years and years without ever having a loss or using the policy they’re paying for. Yet even people who’ve had a long claim-free record are finding that after they do suffer a loss and…
October 19, 2015 Storm of Money Special report from the Post and Courier on hurricanes, insurance, and the black boxes that determine how much you pay.
October 16, 2015 Insurance expert offers tips to Butte Fire survivors Property owners should keep daily journals Property owners who lost homes in the Butte Fire should keep their own records and not rely solely on insurance company claim adjustors to determine the value of their losses, an expert on the industry said Wednesday in Mountain…
October 14, 2015 Butte Fire Workshop: October 14th at 6pm UP is hosting a Roadmap to Recovery workshop for Butte Fire survivors Wednesday, October 14th at 6pm at Mountain Ranch Town Hall. This workshop is an insurance recovery orientation and will provide information on navigating the insurance claim process. There will be a Q&A session after the workshop if…
October 8, 2015 Valley Fire Workshop: October 8th at 6pm UP is hosting a Roadmap to Recovery workshop for Valley Fire survivors this Thursday at 6pm at Middletown High School. This workshop is an insurance recovery orientation and will provide information on navigating the insurance claim process. There will be a Q&A session after the workshop if you have…
October 7, 2015 With Flood Insurance Rare, Homeowners Have Little Recourse New York Times – Many people in areas deluged by rains and flooding tides fed by Hurricane Joaquin are likely to be surprised to find that standard homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover damage from floodwater. Property owners seeking that kind of protection need to…
October 5, 2015 Wildfires may spark higher premiums, non-renewals for homeowners San Francisco Chronicle – Some Californians could pay more for homeowners insurance or have their policies not renewed as a result of wildfires that swept the state this summer, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said last week. “I would anticipate that we will see an…
September 29, 2015 Reflections from a post-wildfire Local Assistance Center Over the past month, UP has been engaged with recovery efforts for the Valley and Butte Fires. I and other staff members and volunteers have sat across the table from countless fire survivors who lost everything, trying our best to give them some hope that they will…
September 28, 2015 A pictorial journey of recovery Follow UP Outreach Coordinator Karen Reimus’ pictorial journey of recovery from the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego, California.
September 28, 2015 How Hurricane Sandy created ‘the perfect storm’ Three years after Hurricane Sandy swept up the East Coast, homeowners are still working to collect money for the damage they sustained. It has been a long and frustrating fight for many. Media reports highlighted their efforts and some accused insurers and engineers of colluding…
September 26, 2015 A flood insurance fix is imperative – We have to do better Superstorm Sandy hit New York City’s many low-lying areas hard and was a wake-up call for residents and public officials. Flooding is a serious risk in the entire New York Metropolitan area, and most people are not prepared. Mandating more people to buy flood insurance…
September 25, 2015 South county community members hear about Valley fire recovery process at Thursday meeting MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Hundreds of south county community members came out to Middletown High School on Thursday evening to learn about services and assistance available to help them through the process of recovering from the Valley fire. The fire, which began Sept. 12, is the…
