For California fire victims, it will be a long, tough road to rebuild
For California fire victims, it will be a long, tough road to rebuild

The fires that tore through California in the past week have reduced homes to ash, upending lives and leaving thousands in sudden need of shelter. But beyond the immediate challenges of finding a place to live in a state with a perpetual shortage of housing,…
Tips and Tools for Making Sure You’re Properly Insured in the Event of a Wildfire
Tips and Tools for Making Sure You’re Properly Insured in the Event of a Wildfire

If you didn’t lose your home, these fires are a startling reminder of the importance of being properly insured. In fact, advocacy group United Policyholders says two-thirds of wildfire victims are under-insured by more than $100,000. Here are tips for making sure you’re protected. First,…
Fire victms may have insurance coverage, but …
Fire victms may have insurance coverage, but …

Consumer advice: There are many ways policies fall short of what homeowners actually lose. The vast majority of California homeowners have insurance that covers fire damage. But that doesn’t mean they can breathe easy. Property insurance lawyers say it’s not uncommon for some insurers to…
Fire-weary California homeowners face long road to recovery
Fire-weary California homeowners face long road to recovery

Californians who lost a home to the state’s wildfires could face a nightmarish recovery as they try to rebuild. It’s always a challenge to recuperate after any disaster, but California residents face a unique problem. Experts say the seemingly endless series of devastating wildfires in…
How to deal with an insurer after your home is burned down
How to deal with an insurer after your home is burned down

The vast majority of California homeowners have insurance that covers fire damage. But that doesn’t mean you can breathe easy. Property insurance lawyers say it’s not uncommon for insurers to do everything possible to minimize payouts, especially after catastrophic blazes such as the ones now…
Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities Recap
Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities Recap

On Tuesday, October 30, 2018 the California Senate Insurance Committee and Assembly Insurance Committee held an informational hearing, “Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities” at Napa Valley College. The hearing focused on rebuilding after the 2017 wildfires that destroyed over 6,000 homes in the…
In praise of a policyholder hero – Cal Thur
In praise of a policyholder hero – Cal Thur

Chip Merlin, a policyholder hero himself, alerted me that we’ve recently lost a champion – Cal Thur.  I was introduced to Cal by the late, great Eugene Anderson many moons ago, and he was an important United Policyholders volunteer and supporter. Cal was a highly…
Roadmap to Recovery focuses on Paying the Bills
Roadmap to Recovery focuses on Paying the Bills

On Wednesday, November 7th at 6pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 547 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa, United Policyholders hosted our 17th public Roadmap to Recovery workshop for people impacted by the devastating 2017 wildfires.  Our panel of experts featured local officials and experts in…
What’s behind your insurer’s brand curtain?
What’s behind your insurer’s brand curtain?

Brand names matter to consumers, and that includes insurance company brands.  Consumers seek out company names they recognize and associate with reliability, especially when insuring a home, which for most people is their biggest asset. As a brand name, Lloyd’s of London is generally very…
State senator and businessman run for state insurance commissioner post in wildfire aftermath
State senator and businessman run for state insurance commissioner post in wildfire aftermath

The race for California insurance commissioner this year has taken on greater importance for North Bay residents, after many have found themselves with homes underinsured as a result of last year’s wildfires. And reforms to overhaul homeowner insurance regulations to provide more ways to help…
Will Home Insurance Pay To Fully Rebuild? Probably Not
Will Home Insurance Pay To Fully Rebuild? Probably Not

It’s been 12 months since Madonna Day’s home burned down in the North Bay wildfires. “I miss it so much,” she said. “My whole life’s treasures and memories are gone to ash.” She and her daughter Marie-Louise Clark are eager to rebuild the farmhouse they…
Joint hearing addresses insurance concerns from North Bay fire victims
Joint hearing addresses insurance concerns from North Bay fire victims

NAPA, Calif.KTVU) – A joint hearing of the state Assembly and Senate Insurance Committees took place at Napa Valley College on Tuesday. The hearing comes after many key proposed reforms, were defeated in the Legislature. The hearing explored if homeowner’s insurance coverage actually meets the…
UP on panel at joint Senate/Assembly Hearing on Post-Wildfire Insurance Issues
UP on panel at joint Senate/Assembly Hearing on Post-Wildfire Insurance Issues

On Tuesday, October 30th, 2018 UP Executive Director Amy Bach will be on the speaker panel at a joint public hearing at Napa Valley College convened by the California Senate and Insurance Committees to examine root causes and potential solutions for solving the post-wildfire underinsurance…
Climate change and tech innovation: An imperative for the insurance industry to adapt responsibly
Climate change and tech innovation: An imperative for the insurance industry to adapt responsibly

There is no shortage of opinions and predictions about how climate change and the tech explosion will reshape the insurance landscape as we know it.  Here are just a few of the predictions we’re hearing: “Insurance deserts will proliferate” (regions where people and businesses can’t…
One year after California’s most devastating wildfire, Santa Rosa is a patchwork of loss and renewal
One year after California’s most devastating wildfire, Santa Rosa is a patchwork of loss and renewal

It was just one year ago when Tricia Woods lost her home in a single, impossible instant. The Tubbs fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history, had ripped through Sonoma County and incinerated more than 5,500 homes, including the middle school teacher’s own four-bedroom…
Many Black Forest residents were thrilled to find their property intact after the 2013 wildfire. For some, the ordeal was just beginning.
Many Black Forest residents were thrilled to find their property intact after the 2013 wildfire. For some, the ordeal was just beginning.

Properties classified as “partial loss” sometimes become the object of intense disagreement between homeowners and insurers BLACK FOREST — At first, Nancy Trosper could hardly believe her good fortune. Although she initially heard that her house had burned to the ground in the disastrous 2013…
How Napa County is overcoming sense of uncertainty after the October 2017 wildfires
How Napa County is overcoming sense of uncertainty after the October 2017 wildfires

So many people living in the North Bay counties of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino had their lives changed one year ago. Our friends and neighbors in Lake County had endured an unprecedented firestorm two years earlier in their area; the October 2017 fires were a…
Under-insured homeowners left without enough to rebuild after North Bay Fires
Under-insured homeowners left without enough to rebuild after North Bay Fires

On the anniversary of the North Bay Fires that burned thousands of homes to the ground in Santa Rosa, we are finding many homeowners will not have the cash to rebuild. Why? They were under-insured, they say, through no fault of their own. A month…