Harvey is a wake-up call to check your homeowners insurance
Harvey is a wake-up call to check your homeowners insurance

Sure, you have homeowners insurance, but there’s a good chance you don’t have enough. CoreLogic says 1 in 4 homes are underinsured by at least 20 percent. With the average home price up more than 30 percent over the past five years, cruising Zillow, Trulia…
Private flood insurance may be option for homeowners in water’s way
Private flood insurance may be option for homeowners in water’s way

Larry Blair of San Mateo buys flood insurance only because his lender requires it, and for years he thought his only option was the National Flood Insurance Program. Then he read about private flood insurance on a Facebook page for people in his North Shoreview…
Loaded for Bare: Policyholders Beware…
Loaded for Bare: Policyholders Beware…

By Amy Bach, as originally posted on Fortune.com Once again, a storm has devastated a region and broken records. Hurricane Harvey dropped so much rain on Texas, the National Weather Service had to add new colors to its map graphics. Where will the money come…
Clarifying the effect of Texas House Bill 1774 on Harvey insurance claims
Clarifying the effect of Texas House Bill 1774 on Harvey insurance claims

There has been some confusion about the effect of a new Texas law that limits the future legal rights of people and businesses that will be filing insurance claims for damage from Hurricane Harvey. The new law comes into play in situations where an insurance…
Claims Teams Begin Handling Onslaught of Harvey Claims
Claims Teams Begin Handling Onslaught of Harvey Claims

Hurricane Harvey has set a U.S record, according to the National Weather Service, dumping 51.88 inches of rain in parts of Texas. As the tropical storm moves over southern Louisiana, claims catastrophe teams are moving in to devastated cities in Texas. AIR Worldwide reported severe…
Consider buying flood insurance
Consider buying flood insurance

Unless a bank requires you to buy it, you probably aren’t paying for flood insurance on your home. Maybe it’s because you don’t live near water. Maybe it’s because your community mapping is outdated. Maybe it’s because an insurance agent said you don’t need it. Maybe…
After the storm: How to fight your insurance company
After the storm: How to fight your insurance company

If the aftermath of past hurricanes is any indication, many Texas homeowners will have to do battle with their insurance companies when Harvey finally runs out of wind and water. “Prepare to push for a fair and full insurance settlement,” said Amy Bach, executive director…
Forbes Op-Ed: Insurance Isn’t Going to Help Harvey Victims
Forbes Op-Ed: Insurance Isn’t Going to Help Harvey Victims

Once again, a storm has devastated a region and broken records. Hurricane Harvey dropped so much rain on Texas, the National Weather Service had to add new colors to its map graphics. Where will the money come from to repair the damage? We know it…
5 big home insurance mistakes that could cost you thousands
5 big home insurance mistakes that could cost you thousands

Seeing Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas has left some people wondering if they have adequate home insurance. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, the answer is no, and that can end up costing thousands of out-of-pocket dollars if disaster strikes. Mistake No. 1: Considering only…
Basic Storm Stats – Texas Hurricane Harvey
Basic Storm Stats – Texas Hurricane Harvey

Dates of the hurricane: Incident Period: August 23-September 15, 2017 Major Disaster Declaration: August 25, 2017   Wind speed: 130mph (Category 4) at landfall in Rockport, Texas   Peak rainfall:[1] 40-61 inches 51.88 inches fell in Cedar Bayou in less than five days   Affected…
Harvey’s Catastrophic Costs Mount; Many Lack Adequate Insurance
Harvey’s Catastrophic Costs Mount; Many Lack Adequate Insurance

Hurricane Harvey’s second act across southern Texas is turning into an economic catastrophe — with damages likely to stretch into tens of billions of dollars and an unusually large share of victims lacking adequate insurance, according to early estimates. Harvey’s cost could mount to $24…
Wells Fargo Borrower Got Unneeded Insurance, and Ruined Credit
Wells Fargo Borrower Got Unneeded Insurance, and Ruined Credit

Wells Fargo has promised to make amends to the customers it forced to buy car insurance that they didn’t need. Allan Dunlap, a former Wells Fargo borrower who spent months trying to get the bank to correct an insurance error that marred his credit report,…
Be Prepared to Push Insurance Companies for Fair Treatment After Hurricane Harvey, UP Advises
Be Prepared to Push Insurance Companies for Fair Treatment After Hurricane Harvey, UP Advises

United Policyholders Offers Texans Free Home Inventory App, Provides Guidance to Residents for Before and After the Storm As Gulf Coast communities brace for Hurricane Harvey, the national insurance consumer non-profit United Policyholders UP) has a special message for Texans: “Be prepared to push for…
Sen. Menendez, Rep. Pallone Visit Union Beach to Push Sweeping Flood Insurance Reforms to Fix Problems Exposed by Sandy
Sen. Menendez, Rep. Pallone Visit Union Beach to Push Sweeping Flood Insurance Reforms to Fix Problems Exposed by Sandy

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez D-N.J.), chair of the Sandy Task Force and a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee that oversees the National Flood Insurance Program NFIP), and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. N.J.-06), traveled today to Union Beach–a community on Raritan Bay devastated by…
NJ Flood Damage Victim Can’t Hold Its Insurance Company Liable For Failing To Disclose The Risk Of Flooding And Neglecting To Recommend Flood Insurance
NJ Flood Damage Victim Can’t Hold Its Insurance Company Liable For Failing To Disclose The Risk Of Flooding And Neglecting To Recommend Flood Insurance

The New Jersey Appellate Division on Monday ruled that an insurance broker sued by a tool manufacturer whose flood policy didn’t cover all of the Superstorm Sandy damage it incurred hadn’t been required to sell the client a policy with higher limits. The three-judge panel’s…
Insurer Off Hook For Flood Claim Despite Knowing Co.’s Risk
Insurer Off Hook For Flood Claim Despite Knowing Co.’s Risk

An electricity meter vendor that suffered flood damage at a New Jersey warehouse caused by Hurricane Irene can’t hold its insurance company or the broker liable for failing to disclose the risk of flooding and neglecting to recommend flood insurance, a New Jersey appellate court…
Insurers must pay even if home damage exceeds property value
Insurers must pay even if home damage exceeds property value

Insured homeowners in California whose homes have been badly damaged, but not destroyed, are entitled to coverage for the cost of repairing them, even if that cost far exceeds the property’s market value, under a ruling that has now become final. The state Supreme Court…
State Supreme Court affirms homeowner reimbursement protections supported by Commissioner Jones
State Supreme Court affirms homeowner reimbursement protections supported by Commissioner Jones

The State Supreme Court Wednesday ended a long legal battle between a Richmond homeowner and her homeowner insurance company when the court refused to consider the insurance industry’s petition to overturn a lower court’s precedent setting decision that insurers must pay to repair a home…