BACH TALK: Whoomp! (there it is)
BACH TALK: Whoomp! (there it is)

In a recent blog, a Texas lawyer revealed an industry secret that is common knowledge to policyholder advocates and claimants but rarely publicly revealed or admitted by insurers:  By dragging out claims and failing to timely pay benefits owed, insurers can pressure policyholders to accept…
Breaking through indecision…
Breaking through indecision…

When you’re under stress and need to make major decisions, it can be paralyzing. After Don and Lee Lehrman lost their home to a wildfire, they used a “forced-choice decision matrix” to decide how to replace it. You make a list of your wants, then…
Catch UP on Colorado Insurance Consumer Law with Brad Levin
Catch UP on Colorado Insurance Consumer Law with Brad Levin

In this Catch UP segment, long time policyholder Attorney Brad Levin of Levin Sitcoff Waneka shares insights on the laws that govern insurance claims and consumer rights in the State of Colorado, and lawsuit logistics and costs to those who want a remedy for unfair…
Paradise rolls out new wildfire prevention standards available to all California homes
Paradise rolls out new wildfire prevention standards available to all California homes

A Paradise home received the state’s first Wildfire Prepared Home designation, kicking off a new program meant to reduce the damage from wildfires. The newly-constructed home is tucked in the burn scar of the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, on a road…
Paradise home becomes first in the U.S. to be designated a ‘wildfire-prepared home’
Paradise home becomes first in the U.S. to be designated a ‘wildfire-prepared home’

The designation is certified by the Insurance Institute for Home and Business Safety and provides proof that a homeowner has taken scientifically proven steps to mitigate risk for total loss in a fire. PARADISE, Calif. —As the town of Paradise continues the long rebuilding process…
Catch UP on Public Adjusting with Steve Severaid
Catch UP on Public Adjusting with Steve Severaid

In this Catch UP segment, California Public Adjuster Steve Severaid, President at The Greenspan Co./ Adjusters International (Northern California) sits down with Amy Bach to talk about what a Public Adjuster can and can’t do for you if you have a property loss and want…
Insurance Whirlwind: From Naperville to Willow Springs, Homeowners Fight for Repairs A Year After Tornado
Insurance Whirlwind: From Naperville to Willow Springs, Homeowners Fight for Repairs A Year After Tornado

Nearly a year after a tornado ripped through Chicago suburbs, some homeowners tell NBC 5 they’re still in the eye of a storm with their insurance carriers over repairs. It has been a turbulent year for the residents of Chicago’s southwestern suburbs, as some homeowners…
Advocacy Win! New Rights for Colorado Insurance Consumers (HB 22-1111)
Advocacy Win! New Rights for Colorado Insurance Consumers (HB 22-1111)

UP is pleased to share the great news that we succeeded in securing new rights for CO insurance consumers that will improve future disaster recovery when Governor Polis today signed CO HB 22-1111 into law. UP was instrumental in the negotiations and testimony that led…
‘We’re going to run out of cash’: 2017 North Bay fire victims’ trust administrator talks fund gap, public criticism
‘We’re going to run out of cash’: 2017 North Bay fire victims’ trust administrator talks fund gap, public criticism

The Fire Victim Trust has the systems in place to settle the financial claims of long-suffering victims of the 2017 North Bay firestorm and the 2018 Camp Fire by the end of the year — if it only had the money — the fund’s administrator…
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Make a Home Inventory
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Make a Home Inventory

Imagine that all your belongings are destroyed in a house fire. Thankfully, you have insurance. But to file a claim and get reimbursed, you have to make a list of everything you lost. How many of your belongings would you be able to remember? I…
Bars and restaurants lose COVID insurance decision at Wisconsin Supreme Court
Bars and restaurants lose COVID insurance decision at Wisconsin Supreme Court

Bars and restaurants that counted on business insurance to help cover major losses from 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns are out of luck, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has found. To the layperson, the forced closures due to the pandemic would seem to meet the definition of a…
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?
Misunderstood California law could protect your home’s fire insurance. How does it work?

Your insurance company may be required to maintain your fire coverage if you live in a high-risk area in California — but the law that protects your home can be misinterpreted, as was the case for a Shasta Valley resident after she received a premature…
This woman’s insurer ended her policy after a wildfire, but a law still protected her.
This woman’s insurer ended her policy after a wildfire, but a law still protected her.

Hanne Rickers had been expecting the letter, but it was still awful to see it. The stuffy language of an insurance company belied the real consequences of the two-page notice: “Your property does not meet our wildfire eligibility guidelines,” Grange Insurance Association wrote to her…
California wants to force insurers to reward homeowners for fireproofing homes
California wants to force insurers to reward homeowners for fireproofing homes

When Ashley Raveche and her husband bought their home in Mill Valley, they thought they were doing everything right. The 1,300 square foot house already had vents with screens that make it harder for embers to get in and a tar and gravel roof, top-rated…
The dilemma of property insurance on the Hill
The dilemma of property insurance on the Hill

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) is rolling out new regulations mandating that insurers in the state offer discounts to policyholders who undertake fire hazard mitigation and structure “hardening.” The rules are intended to make decisions about rate and risk more transparent and more tuned…
Waiting On Wheels? Call Kurtis Investigates How Supply Chain Issues Are Impacting Car Repairs
Waiting On Wheels? Call Kurtis Investigates How Supply Chain Issues Are Impacting Car Repairs

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — After waiting five months to get a new gas tank, a Roseville viewer called Kurtis to investigate cars that aren’t getting fixed because of supply chain issues. Vicki Robinson was out to dinner in Roseville last November when a thief drilled a…
Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap

This is your friendly reminder that earthquake damage is NOT covered by your home or renters insurance policy unless you’ve paid extra for that protection. UP keeps tabs on earthquake insurance options and we recently moderated a National “Mind the Gap” Earthquake Insurance Forum in…
Two-Thirds of Homeowners Underinsured for Wildfire Loss
Two-Thirds of Homeowners Underinsured for Wildfire Loss

Regulators, insurers & advocates work to close gap in wildfire loss coverage By:  ELIZABETH FESTA As wildfires continue to grow in size and expense while ravaging or threatening residential areas, insurers and policy advocates are warning that roughly two-thirds of homes  are underinsured. This means…