Life (insurance) Lessons
Life (insurance) Lessons

Pandemic-related layoffs, furloughs and business closures have forced many Americans to tap retirement accounts and cut non-essential expenses to get by. If you’re experiencing financial hardship but don’t want your auto, home or life insurance to lapse, check the website of the agency that oversees…
Speakers describe farm disaster recovery strategies
Speakers describe farm disaster recovery strategies

Business owners hit by wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic have a range of financial options to explore, along with worries over insurance claims. These were covered in detail in a virtual workshop held last week by the Napa County Farm Bureau in cooperation with California…
Buying homeowners insurance? Ask these 4 questions first
Buying homeowners insurance? Ask these 4 questions first

Purchasing insurance may not be as fun as choosing new furniture and paint colors, but it’s a critical part of the homebuying process. Your homeowners insurance policy is a financial safety net in case of a disaster, so you’ll want to ask a few important…
Insurance questions following Colorado’s devastating wildfires? There’s a nonprofit that can help
Insurance questions following Colorado’s devastating wildfires? There’s a nonprofit that can help

The nonprofit group United Policyholders is helping fire-affected residents in Grand, Boulder and Larimer counties navigate insurance claims to ensure they get the most out of their policies. “We will walk them through their policy and teach them how to work with their insurance company…
What’s UP? December 2020
What’s UP? December 2020

BACH TALK A message from Co-Founder and Executive Director, Amy Bach We are proud to bring you our 2020 What’s UP newsletter. This expanded version of our print mailer features updates on what’s ahead in 2021 and the latest from your ever-dedicated Team UP. Dear…
Guest Blog: Fire resistant structures from the ground up, a technology making inroads in disaster affected areas
Guest Blog: Fire resistant structures from the ground up, a technology making inroads in disaster affected areas

by Charles Brooks, Executive Director, Rebuild Paradise Greetings from Paradise, CA! I must first preface this post, by saying we do not specifically endorse any product, technology, home builder, or any service provider.  It is your responsibility to thoroughly research, vet and understand the products…
Smoke, Maggots, and Mold: Fire Survivors Fight Insurance Company’s Denials
Smoke, Maggots, and Mold: Fire Survivors Fight Insurance Company’s Denials

In the Santa Cruz mountains, the charred scars of the CZU fire stretch in every direction. But every once in a while, the scorched landscape yields to a house that survived. Theresa Brees’ home is one of the lucky ones. “Our house is basically an…
Additional Living Expenses Coverage In Homeowners Insurance
Additional Living Expenses Coverage In Homeowners Insurance

There’s a battle raging over “ALE” and it has nothing to do with beer. ALE is the acronym for additional living expenses coverage. It’s the money you’ll need to live elsewhere if forced from your home due to fire or any disaster covered by your…
Who Is The California Earthquake Authority?
Who Is The California Earthquake Authority?

You might call the California Earthquake Authority a financial shock absorber for the Golden State, home to nearly 40 million people and to two-thirds of the country’s earthquake risk. Created in 1996, the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is the largest residential earthquake insurer in the…
California Department of Insurance Commissioner Protects More Than 2 Million Policyholders Affected by Wildfires from Policy Non-Renewal for One Year
California Department of Insurance Commissioner Protects More Than 2 Million Policyholders Affected by Wildfires from Policy Non-Renewal for One Year

November 5, 2020 – LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing or cancelling residential property insurance policies—helping 2.1 million policyholders, or 18 percent of California’s residential insurance market, affected to date by the record 2020…
State insurance commissioner blocks home insurers from dropping policies near Glass, LNU Lightning fires
State insurance commissioner blocks home insurers from dropping policies near Glass, LNU Lightning fires

The California insurance commissioner on Thursday issued an order prohibiting insurance companies from canceling property insurance policies for one year for people who live in or around the areas burned by the recent Glass and LNU Lightning Complex fires. Ricardo Lara’s action will preserve property…
California protects homeowners from having fire insurance dropped — again
California protects homeowners from having fire insurance dropped — again

As this year’s historic wildfire season winds down, Californians living in fire-prone territory got temporary relief from another threat: they can’t lose their homeowners’ insurance policies for another year. Premiums and nonrenewal rates have skyrocketed in California’s fire-prone regions since 2015 as companies are loath…
Louisiana homeowners beware: Here’s how the ‘hurricane deductible’ could limit Zeta claims
Louisiana homeowners beware: Here’s how the ‘hurricane deductible’ could limit Zeta claims

Louisiana homeowners will likely face an unwelcome obstacle as they recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Zeta: the dreaded hurricane deductible. Those deductibles, which became a nearly universal part of insurance contracts on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, put the onus on homeowners…
Home warranties seem attractive amid lockdown. Here’s why you want to be careful
Home warranties seem attractive amid lockdown. Here’s why you want to be careful

One thing we know for sure about the coronavirus, it’s been giving our homes a workout. With many people spending all day and night in lockdown, this has placed unusual strain on such things as kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures. Which may have gotten you…
Guest Blog: An Adjuster’s View on Derecho Claims
Guest Blog: An Adjuster’s View on Derecho Claims

by: Caeden Tinklenberg, Swift Public Adjusters Two months after the August 10 derecho that swept Iowa, many homeowners are realizing they may be left out in the cold by their insurance company. The damage left by the derecho is unfathomable to me as an Iowa…
Santa Rosa firm helps wildfire victims navigate battles with insurance companies
Santa Rosa firm helps wildfire victims navigate battles with insurance companies

Three years since the Tubbs fire, there have been some notable improvements for homeowners who are wrangling with their insurance carriers in the aftermath of a wildfire loss. The state Legislature enacted some reforms, such as boosting rental living expenses from a maximum of two…
Wildfire survivors facing total property loss struggle with insurance claims process
Wildfire survivors facing total property loss struggle with insurance claims process

With a destructive wildfire season still underway, Insurance Commissioner Lara is urging insurance companies to help wildfire survivors. CALIFORNIA, USA — California has had an incredibly destructive wildfire season, which have left many residences without a home or facing significant property damage. As a result,…
Gov. Newsom signs insurance bill providing quicker payments for wildfire losses
Gov. Newsom signs insurance bill providing quicker payments for wildfire losses

Wildfire victims who lose their home and possessions will be able to recoup money for their expenses faster, thanks to legislation that makes property insurance benefits easier to collect. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 872 into law Thursday, providing a suite of insurance protections…