Keeping home insurance available and affordable in our era of climate change and tech tools
Keeping home insurance available and affordable in our era of climate change and tech tools

Generally speaking, home insurance companies are free to pick which homes they want to insure and which they don’t.  There has been an explosion in tech tools that insurance companies can use to assess risks and decide who and what they are willing to insure…
NAIC Names 34 Insurance Consumer Representatives for 2019
NAIC Names 34 Insurance Consumer Representatives for 2019

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC) recently named 34 consumer liaison representatives for 2019. Established in 1992, the Consumer Liaison Program promotes consumer interaction with state insurance regulators at meetings and throughout the year. The 20 funded and 14 unfunded consumer representatives began their…
North Bay residents face new risk after wildfires: insurers dropping their homeowner policies
North Bay residents face new risk after wildfires: insurers dropping their homeowner policies

Stacie and Jad Elkhoury avoided tragedy two years ago when flames from the Nuns wildfire stopped just short of their home southeast of Sonoma. The house did suffer some smoke damage to upholstery and rugs, for which they filed a claim with their insurance company,…
Debris Removal Decisions for 2018 Camp and Woolsey Wildfire Survivors
Debris Removal Decisions for 2018 Camp and Woolsey Wildfire Survivors

Clearing wildfire debris is the responsibility of each individual property owner.  Help is available to get the work done safely, completely, and legally.  For your and your neighbor’s protection, wildfire debris must be removed from your property and disposed of properly. Items such as retaining…
As wildfire risk increases in Colorado and the West, home insurance grows harder to find
As wildfire risk increases in Colorado and the West, home insurance grows harder to find

BOULDER — A few months after Chris Cook and his family moved from California into a four-bedroom house nestled among ponderosa pines in the foothills here, they received a letter saying their home insurance policy had been canceled. The insurer, Allstate, had concluded — after…
Government shutdown is delaying flood insurance needed for home sales
Government shutdown is delaying flood insurance needed for home sales

Some 40,000 homes could be left “unsold” for each month the government shutdown lasts, according to the National Association of Realtors NAR). And in its latest monthly housing report, the NAR predicted “slower economic growth” if employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) remain…
Wildfire victim urges homeowners to check insurance policies
Wildfire victim urges homeowners to check insurance policies

Former Paradise, California, resident Barb West used to view insurance the way most homeowners do. “Who loses everything?” asked West, 64. Her husband, Roy West, is a building contractor, and she said that probably added to her false sense of security. “If a tree came…
BACH TALK: Crumbling foundation owners in CT await insurance rulings
BACH TALK: Crumbling foundation owners in CT await insurance rulings

So many home foundations are crumbling in the state of Connecticut that the legislature passed a special law sealing their records, in part to protect their ongoing efforts to secure insurance coverage to help cover repairs and prevent collapse, damage and injuries.  The widespread problem…
California’s wildfire victims could be like most homeowners: underinsured
California’s wildfire victims could be like most homeowners: underinsured

As owners of the nearly 18,000 properties destroyed by California’s recent wildfires begin to file insurance claims, many of them will likely find they do not have enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding. Surveys from the research firm Marshall & Swift/Boeckh have found…
Insurance issues linger well after California North Coast wildfires are out
Insurance issues linger well after California North Coast wildfires are out

As the North Bay welcomed 2018, it was clear to survivors of October 2017’s wildfires that much of the year would involve dealing with post-fires insurance claims, which reached $9.5 billion, according to state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. And after another season of historic fires…
December Roadmap to Recovery Workshops
December Roadmap to Recovery Workshops

Through our Roadmap to Recovery program, United Policyholders is presenting an Insurance and Recovery Orientation workshop to help recent wildfire survivors understand insurance lingo, insurance rights and figure out next steps. Woolsey Fire Insurance and Recovery Orientation Saturday, December 15th 10am-12pm Malibu Public Library 23519 West Civic…
Wildfires may soon be uninsurable risks for homeowners
Wildfires may soon be uninsurable risks for homeowners

Homeowners in wildfire-prone areas of California and other Western states now have yet another worry: Insurers have issued an ominous warning that they could be facing a “wildfire deductible” in coming years or, even worse, the prospect of having their home insurance canceled altogether. The…
Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfire property losses reach $9 billion
Camp, Woolsey and Hill wildfire property losses reach $9 billion

Insurance costs already rival last year’s nearly $12 billion in losses from wildfires This year’s wildfire season is already California’s deadliest and most destructive. On Wednesday, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said it is also among the costliest in private property losses with claims totaling…
Insurer goes bust from Camp Fire with millions in claims unpaid. How will it affect Paradise homeowners?
Insurer goes bust from Camp Fire with millions in claims unpaid. How will it affect Paradise homeowners?

Millions of dollars in potential losses from the Camp Fire have ruined a small Merced County insurance company, providing another element of uncertainty for homeowners following the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history. A judge declared Merced Property & Casualty Co. of Atwater…
As wildfires drive insurance premiums up, will homeowners be able to keep up?
As wildfires drive insurance premiums up, will homeowners be able to keep up?

At first, Lucy Reynolds was unnerved by the non-renewal notice from the insurance company two years ago. Mortgaged homes must have coverage so Reynolds and her husband needed to find a replacement, quick. She was turned down by her neighbor’s carrier and an insurance agent…
Hurry up and wait? What to do when your insurer goes “insolvent.”
Hurry up and wait? What to do when your insurer goes “insolvent.”

Disasters strain insurer’s claim-paying capacity in situations where they have alot of customers in the impacted region that all make claims at the same time. The vast majority of insurers have enough money on hand to pay their claims after disasters, thanks to regulations that…
Here’s How to Help California Fire Victims, Now and Years Into the Future
Here’s How to Help California Fire Victims, Now and Years Into the Future

Keep your old clothes. Give cash to groups that help survivors deal, heal, and rebuild. People send used clothes. Stuffed animals. Canned goods. A fine sentiment. But these things are just not very useful and require too much work to sort through and distribute. If…
How climate change is changing your insurance
How climate change is changing your insurance

As victims of the California wildfires begin to think about rebuilding their homes, advocates and policymakers are warning that natural disasters, made more frequent and destructive because of climate change, could make home insurance unaffordable and force more Americans to rely on government insurance programs…