The Agony of the List
The Agony of the List

The text notification woke Ashley Bryn Carter at 12:38 a.m., hours after the start of the most destructive wildfires in California history. She packed quickly, imagining she’d be back soon. But earlier that day, something had possessed her to go room by room and film…
State Farm Was All In on California—Until It Pulled the Plug Before the Fires
State Farm Was All In on California—Until It Pulled the Plug Before the Fires

Insurer aggressively grew in Los Angeles, despite getting overweight on fire risk, but decided to cut thousands of policies last year, adding to the state’s home-insurance crisis After the pandemic, most home insurers were fleeing wildfire-prone areas of California. But State Farm was there—and making…
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck
Fire-ravaged LA areas faced high non-renewal rates for home, fire insurance before disaster struck

State Farm’s request for an emergency home insurance rate hike on Tuesday was one of many troubling signs for California’s home insurance market. Now, 7 on Your Side Investigates has data showing how traditional residential and fire policies are becoming out of reach for many…
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis
LA neighbors have vastly different rebuilding options due to insurance crisis

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster
What to know about home insurance coverage after a major natural disaster

It’s one thing to fix your home after something basic has gone wrong, but it’s a different beast to rebuild and recover after a major natural disaster has destroyed multiple properties on your street, in your neighborhood or across the region. Don’t wait until you’re…
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
Stay Tuned NOW with Gadi Schwartz
Stay Tuned NOW with Gadi Schwartz

President Trump held a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump suggested the U.S. could “take control of Gaza,” and the White House sent the first military flights filled with migrants to Guantanamo Bay. 00:00 Trump: U.S. ‘will take over the Gaza strip’…
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires
California’s insurance crisis leaves neighbors facing unequal recovery after wildfires

Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul,” said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a…
State Farm Seeks Emergency Rate Hike in California After LA Fires
State Farm Seeks Emergency Rate Hike in California After LA Fires

State Farm is asking California regulators to approve a significant emergency rate hike, saying it is needed to avert a “dire situation for our customers and the insurance market in the state” accelerated by the disastrous wildfires across Southern California. The company, California’s largest insurance group,…
States eye solutions for home insurance crisis
States eye solutions for home insurance crisis

… United Policyholders. “Yes, we are in a crisis.” Some of the most shocking instances of natural disaster – like the recent LA wildfires, as well … Read more.
Rising Climate Risks Prompt Surge In Home Insurance Costs
Rising Climate Risks Prompt Surge In Home Insurance Costs

Homeowners face mounting challenges as insurers tighten policies and increase rates nationwide. With climate change increasingly influencing weather-related disasters, the home insurance market is feeling the heat. From skyrocketing premiums to properties being dropped by insurers, the consequences of more frequent hurricanes, wildfires, and floods…
Over $4 billion in LA fire claims distributed, more to come
Over $4 billion in LA fire claims distributed, more to come

Insurance companies have paid out $4.2 billion in claims so far to survivors of the Los Angeles County fires, the state Insurance Department said Thursday. That figure includes home, business, living expenses and other disaster-related claims related to the Eaton and Palisades fires, the department…
Rep. Mike Thompson, Santa Rosa fire survivor aid Los Angeles as state braces for rate hikes
Rep. Mike Thompson, Santa Rosa fire survivor aid Los Angeles as state braces for rate hikes

When U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and Coffey Strong founding Director Annie Barbour went to Los Angeles this week , they were in familiar territory among fire survivors and lawmakers coping with the immensity of damage from the fires there. That’s roughly where the common ground…
Wildfires, Property Insurance, and the Cost of Rebuilding Lives: Navigating the Legal Landscape
Wildfires, Property Insurance, and the Cost of Rebuilding Lives: Navigating the Legal Landscape

In recent years, wildfires have become an increasingly devastating force, scorching landscapes and upending lives across California, Oregon, and Washington. The Los Angeles wildfires, in particular, have left a haunting imprint: 28 lives lost, thousands of homes reduced to rubble, and untold economic and emotional…
California fires show states’ ‘last resort’ insurance plans could be overwhelmed
California fires show states’ ‘last resort’ insurance plans could be overwhelmed

In the months before thousands of Los Angeles homes went up in flames, property insurance companies dropped coverage in many neighborhoods of the city, citing the growing wildfire risks caused by climate change. As a result, a fast-growing number of California residents have switched to…
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires
Ensuring insurance: Homeowners insurance coverage reassessed amid LA wildfires

Two United States representatives from California proposed a new bill Jan. 16 that would reassess home insurance coverage in areas with high wildfire risk. The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act, reintroduced by Representatives Maxine Waters and Brad Sherman, would ask the Government Accountability Office to…
First Steps For Disaster Relief: A ‘Navigating Insurance’ Webinar
First Steps For Disaster Relief: A ‘Navigating Insurance’ Webinar

Please join California Western School of Law Professor Kenneth Klein, homeowners’ insurance expert, 2003 wildfire survivor, and Senior Advisor to United Policyholders, along with Amy Bach, Founder and President of United Policyholders, and Annie Barbour, 2017 wildfire survivor and United Policyholders Program Liaison. This webinar is…
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster
What Southern California wildfire victims can expect from their insurance adjuster

Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured…