California seeks to establish new fire-safe standards for homes, insurers
California seeks to establish new fire-safe standards for homes, insurers

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday announced an effort to establish home-hardening standards that could protect participating homeowners from canceled policies and soaring rates while providing a mechanism to encourage fire-safe retrofits that could save lives and property. The effort, which will begin this month with…
Few California court wins for pandemic business-interruption claims
Few California court wins for pandemic business-interruption claims

As North Coast businesses grapple with insurance claims from the 2020 wildfires on top of ongoing issues with coverage for the coronavirus lockdowns of a number of economic activities, a major advocate for policyholders said those types of losses differ but they’re connected by promises…
Why Your Education and Job Could Mean You’re Paying Too Much for Car Insurance
Why Your Education and Job Could Mean You’re Paying Too Much for Car Insurance

Cuqui Rivera bought car insurance from Liberty Mutual for almost a decade before she started shopping around for a cheaper policy in December. She hadn’t planned to look elsewhere—she liked the customer service at Liberty—until she heard something that made her think again: An acquaintance…
Why You Should Consider Flood Insurance Even if You Don’t Live in a Flood Zone
Why You Should Consider Flood Insurance Even if You Don’t Live in a Flood Zone

Most homeowners who carry flood insurance have little choice in the matter; they live in a high-risk area where their mortgage lender requires coverage. But flood protection is worth a look even if your bank doesn’t demand you have it. The insurance industry sees the…
High Car Insurance Rates? Bad Credit May Be to Blame
High Car Insurance Rates? Bad Credit May Be to Blame

If you can’t afford to pay all your bills right now, the last thing you need is overpriced car insurance. But that’s exactly what can happen if your credit dips low enough (and you live in a state where insurers can charge you more for…
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…
Winter 2020 Newsletter
Winter 2020 Newsletter

2020 Highlights: Sounding a national alarm about shrinking coverage and protection gaps, taking action to reverse the trend through 3 new UP initiatives: The RISC Initiative to restore essential coverage to property policies The WRAP Initiative to increase mitigation/risk reduction support and rewards COVID-19 Loss…
Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk
Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk

Acquiring home insurance has long been a mundane but necessary chore. In California, for hundreds of thousands of residents, it’s turned into a labyrinthine quest that leaves people with expensive, bare-bones coverage. That’s because an increasing amount of Californians have been dropped by their regular…
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…