Ensure you’re not underinsured
Ensure you’re not underinsured

As someone who’s worked in the insurance industry in one way or another his entire career, nothing brings me more sadness than to see people who’ve experienced catastrophic loss. Loss of that magnitude is devastating, so I speak so much on preparing for it in…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades fire on television, when a neighbor knocked on the door. He wanted them to see it: flames in the mountains in nearby Eaton Canyon. Within…
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next
For L.A. Residents Whose Homes Burned, Aging Complicates What Comes Next

Losing your home in a disaster when you’re at or near retirement age can derail your finances and jeopardize the funds you were counting on. Sandra and Tom Johnson were at home in Los Angeles County one January night, watching the news of the Palisades…
Colorado lawmakers propose insurance fees to tackle rising home coverage costs.
Colorado lawmakers propose insurance fees to tackle rising home coverage costs.

Colorado is in the middle of a growing problem with home insurance. Over the past several years, people living in the state have watched their insurance costs go up and their options shrink. Some homeowners have been dropped by their providers altogether. This has happened…
Officials issue warning as California homeowners are faced with unexpected obstacle in wake of catastrophe
Officials issue warning as California homeowners are faced with unexpected obstacle in wake of catastrophe

As wildfires become more frequent and destructive in the U.S., surviving homeowners are being hit with a second wave of hardship — from their insurance companies. In California, where fire risk is especially high, some residents are being denied insurance coverage, leaving them with costly…
Why the insure-to-value discussion is more important than ever
Why the insure-to-value discussion is more important than ever

As Greater Los Angeles moves forward with cleanup and rebuilding efforts following the January wildfires, many property owners may soon face another wave of distress. In an interview with CNBC, Amy Bach, executive director of nonprofit consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, shared that as many…
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says
State’s new fire maps won’t push up insurance rates, industry says

After seeing his premiums quadruple in the past three years, Shawn Faircloth wondered if a new wildfire designation could spell yet another insurance hike for his San Juan Capistrano home. “I’m assuming they will leverage up my rates even more,” said Faircloth, 49, whose home…
Tornadoes will become more frequent in coming weeks. Here’s what to know if your home is destroyed
Tornadoes will become more frequent in coming weeks. Here’s what to know if your home is destroyed

An average of 1,200 tornadoes hit the United States yearly, and the country will probably get more killer supercells spawning tornadoes and hail as the world warms, according to a 2023 study. That study also warns the severe storms are edging eastward to strike more…
Tornadoes will become more frequent in coming weeks. Here’s what to know if your home is destroyed
Tornadoes will become more frequent in coming weeks. Here’s what to know if your home is destroyed

An average of 1,200 tornadoes hit the United States yearly, and the country will probably get more killer supercells spawning tornadoes and hail as the world warms, according to a 2023 study. That study also warns the severe storms are edging eastward to strike more…
A broken system is keeping California homes underinsured. Millions have no idea they’re at risk
A broken system is keeping California homes underinsured. Millions have no idea they’re at risk

Using faulty algorithms and flawed processes, the state’s biggest insurance companies routinely underestimate what their clients will need to rebuild. For wildfire survivors, it’s a gut punch at the worst possible time. Mike Kubo had found only enough time to grab a few bags of…
LA’s fire hazard has grown. What does that mean for insurance?
LA’s fire hazard has grown. What does that mean for insurance?

If Los Angeles’s growing concerns about wildfires weren’t clear enough already, maps released by the state earlier this week confirmed the obvious: The county’s fire hazard has grown in the past decade. The updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps — published by the Office of…
Fire Resiliency in the Santa Fe Region
Fire Resiliency in the Santa Fe Region

LISTEN Santa Fe’s fire season is fast approaching but there’s still time for property owners to take action to protect their homes from the effects of a devastating fire. In this second of a two-part series on fire risk and home insurance in Santa Fe,…
Insuring New Mexicans as Fire Season Approaches
Insuring New Mexicans as Fire Season Approaches

LISTEN It appears to be “all hands on deck” as the Santa Fe area enters a new fire season. Legislators, insurers, fire departments and property owners all play a part in making sure the region is prepared, but many property owners don’t have the information…
Trust Issues
Trust Issues

Putting your home into a Revocable Trust is an estate planning best practice. One of the many challenges in the spotlight since the recent LA wildfires are problems people are having because their destroyed home was held in a trust but the trust wasn’t named…
Calif. State Farm Meeting Raises Solvency Concerns
Calif. State Farm Meeting Raises Solvency Concerns

State Farm’s emergency request for a 22% premium increase in California has raised questions about the insurer’s financial health, but a prominent consumer group says the carrier hasn’t justified that request… Download PDF to read.
California Insurance: Intervening, Interfering
California Insurance: Intervening, Interfering

In insurance circles Florida and California have the dubious distinction of being perennial problem children for home and auto insurance. In both states insurance markets have been severely disrupted by unique factors unknown in any other state. In Florida, the disruptor was litigation gone wild.…
Your building survived the fire, but is it safe?
Your building survived the fire, but is it safe?

The massive fires destroyed entire communities, but even in these fire zones and nearby, some buildings survived. The question is – are they habitable? Dana from Pacific Palisades sent us her concerns through Ask 7: “My landlord is pushing for the tenants to move back…
How to make sure a home held in a trust is properly insured
How to make sure a home held in a trust is properly insured

Most people who own real estate and do estate planning put their homes in a Revocable Trust.  By doing this, people get incapacity protections, direct who they want to inherit their property and avoid probate at death. In California, probate is a court supervised process…