Trick or treat…what’s in yours?
Trick or treat…what’s in yours?

Make sure your policy has more treats than tricks! The only thing scarier than how devastating the last year has been with wildfires, lava, flooding and hurricanes is language we’ve been finding buried in some of the insurance policies that impacted people have been showing…
North Bay fire victims should be aware of deadlines to sue their homeowner insurers
North Bay fire victims should be aware of deadlines to sue their homeowner insurers

As the first anniversary of the North Bay wildfires approaches, people who lost their homes in the natural disasters should take steps to ensure they do not lose the ability to sue their homeowner insurers if they think they have been treated unfairly, according to…
Sonoma County Medical Association holds fires-recovery workshop
Sonoma County Medical Association holds fires-recovery workshop

Like anyone who has been affected by October 2017’s wildfires, physicians need ongoing support and assistance in rebuilding their lives. And they continue to receive it. On Wednesday the Sonoma County Medical Association held the third in its ongoing series of fire-recovery programs and workshops…
What’s UP? Fall 2018
What’s UP? Fall 2018

BACH TALK A message from Co-Founder and Executive Director, Amy Bach Scaling UP: Extreme weather, wildfires and torrential rains are impacting a growing number of homes and businesses across our country. Collecting insurance funds for repairs and rebuilding can be very challenging. Demand for our services…
How claims SHOULD be handled
How claims SHOULD be handled

Although this is an insurance company advertisement, and the policyholder is clearly reading from a script presumably written by the insurance company, it highlights how claims should be handled, and how they shouldn’t.  We at UP fully recognize that catastrophe claims put strains on insurance company resources, and…
What happens when you buy a house in a disaster zone – and no one told you?
What happens when you buy a house in a disaster zone – and no one told you?

In many states, laws don’t require sellers to disclose that a property is in a flood or wildfire area, leaving homeowners with unexpected damage and losses The house on Weber Hill Road is almost a year gone, but it still haunts Emilie Hayes. Thirteen years…
Guest Blog: The Supreme Court of FL Rules in Favor of Policyholder on Application of Florida’s Bad Faith Law
Guest Blog: The Supreme Court of FL Rules in Favor of Policyholder on Application of Florida’s Bad Faith Law

By Molly Chafe Brockmeyer, Esq., Boyle & Leonard, P.A., Ft. Meyers, FL. UP Volunteer On September 20, 2018, in a case where UP weighed in as amicus curiae, the Supreme Court of Florida issued its opinion, affirming Florida’s long held bad faith precedent.  The state’s high…
Bummer about your medical emergency, but your claim is denied because you didn’t call in advance
Bummer about your medical emergency, but your claim is denied because you didn’t call in advance

Of the many dubious reasons insurers use for denying claims, one of the most bizarre is telling a patient they neglected to obtain prior approval for treatment in the midst of a medical emergency. Because, of course, the first thing most people think of in…
Private firefighters and five-star hotels: how the rich sit out wildfires
Private firefighters and five-star hotels: how the rich sit out wildfires

With record-breaking wildfires carving up the American west this summer, firefighters have become the rarest of civil servants: the kind almost universally lauded as heroes. Reinforcements dropped into California’s firefight from as far away as Australia and American Samoa to bolster strained state and federal…
Footing The Bill For Climate Change: ‘By The End Of The Day, Someone Has To Pay’
Footing The Bill For Climate Change: ‘By The End Of The Day, Someone Has To Pay’

By all accounts, Florence was a massive, wet monster of a storm — and an expensive one, too. Its historic deluge swelled inland rivers and wrecked homes across the Carolinas, racking up costs that early estimates set as high as $22 billion. When the floodwaters…
Carr Fire debris removal service limitations
Carr Fire debris removal service limitations

REDDING, Calif. — Debris removal from the Carr Fire is under way in Shasta County, but before the crews clear your land, there’s some last-minute information you should know. Janelle Galbraith Management Assistant to the City Manager, with the Redding city planner’s office says once…
Green Mountain Falls homes hit with mudslides, little help available
Green Mountain Falls homes hit with mudslides, little help available

Cascading hail accumulated on Lamar Mathews’ windshield as she made her way up the back road to Green Mountain Falls, through Chipita Park. She’d been stuck in traffic on U.S. 24 going west from Colorado Springs for quite some time before managing to get on…
Hurricane Florence’s next challenge: Dealing with insurers
Hurricane Florence’s next challenge: Dealing with insurers

Soon after the still-rising flood waters from Hurricane Florence begin to recede, the rebuilding process in devastated parts of North and South Carolina will get underway. Insurers will have to write an estimated $10 billion check for that, said the Consumer Federation of America CFA).…
No flood insurance? You can still get help
No flood insurance? You can still get help

More than a million people in North and South Carolina have suffered from the flood waters driven ashore by Hurricane Florence. Nearly 750,000 of them were forced to evacuate, while others were trapped by a deluge of more than 30 inches of rain. Even when…
Hurricane Florence storm surge damage may not be covered
Hurricane Florence storm surge damage may not be covered

As Hurricane Florence makes landfall, homeowners along the North and South Carolina coasts could face up to 14 feet of storm surge — tidal water driven by high winds. But many of them could discover that their insurance doesn’t cover damage from that common hurricane…
Homeowner Advocate Seeks Wildfire Victims for Insurance Survey
Homeowner Advocate Seeks Wildfire Victims for Insurance Survey

As the anniversary of the October 2017 North Bay wildfires approaches, a San Francisco group is interested in hearing from Californians whose homes were damaged or destroyed. United Policyholders, a non-profit that has held several workshops to help fire victims tackle insurance issues, is conducting…
Press Release: Wildfire-impacted households face emotions, decisions at the one-year mark: Help is available, survey underway
Press Release: Wildfire-impacted households face emotions, decisions at the one-year mark: Help is available, survey underway

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 6, 2018 – United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit insurance consumer organization, will offer guidance to wildfire-impacted households on navigating deadlines, decisions and emotions at the one-year anniversary of their devastating losses at a free workshop. UP is also asking all…
California Legislature enacts homeowners insurance reforms regarding wildfires
California Legislature enacts homeowners insurance reforms regarding wildfires

Victims of the fires that destroyed thousands of homes in 2017 will not benefit from the changes. The California Legislature has approved homeowners insurance reforms designed to boost consumer protections. This is particularly important as Californians battle with wildfire risks for yet another year. Devastating…