Lake County Office of Emergency Services to host Valley fire community meeting Sept. 24
Lake County Office of Emergency Services to host Valley fire community meeting Sept. 24

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Lake County Office of Emergency Services OES) is hosting a community meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at the Middletown High School football field. Residents, homeowners and contractors are invited to attend the community meeting. Federal, state…
Paying more than just attention
Paying more than just attention

Our recent conversations with wildfire evacuees and people who’ve just lost everything inspired us to restate: Recovering from a loss without (any or enough) insurance is a very bleak prospect. If a disaster is officially declared federal, the average FEMA grant to an individual is…
Why Did My Car Insurance Rates Go Up?
Why Did My Car Insurance Rates Go Up?

It’s that time of year again. Your car insurance policy is up for renewal and your fingers are crossed in hopes of a reduction. Even though you have been a safe driver, your insurance company raises your rates. “Why are my rates going up?” The…
Insuring your car for storm damage
Insuring your car for storm damage

Category 5 coverage: Is your policy hurricane-proof? No one expects to have their car float away in 12 feet of floodwater and end up perched atop a tree, or pinned under a house. But there were a lot of those kinds of insurance claims filed…
Understanding Insurance Policies for Homes in Wildfire-Prone Areas
Understanding Insurance Policies for Homes in Wildfire-Prone Areas

The worst wildfire season in years is forcing many Californians from their homes and has caused the destruction of hundreds of houses, cars and other property. Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit group that assists consumers with insurance issues, urges homeowners who…
California reforms should ease fire victims’ insurance claims
California reforms should ease fire victims’ insurance claims

The hundreds of people whose homes were lost or damaged in devastating wildfires now ravaging California should have an easier time dealing with insurers, thanks to the Oakland hills fire of 24 years ago. Survivors of that fire and subsequent ones in Los Angeles and…
7 ON YOUR SIDE: WHAT FIRE VICTIMS SHOULD DO IF THEY HAVE INSURANCE
7 ON YOUR SIDE: WHAT FIRE VICTIMS SHOULD DO IF THEY HAVE INSURANCE

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. KGO) — ABC7 News crews went to the Valley Fire evacuation center in Calistoga to offer assistance and 7 On Your Side’s Michael Finney was there to talk to insurance and business experts on how to get the help they need and…
Car Repairs From Deer Collisions Will Cost More
Car Repairs From Deer Collisions Will Cost More

The latest insurance data show that the risk of hitting a deer with your car has not changed much from a year ago. But the cost of repairing your car if you’re unlucky enough to strike one is on the rise. State Farm reports that…
Non-profit offers insurance advice to fire victims
Non-profit offers insurance advice to fire victims

Those who have been left homeless by the Valley Fire will now start the arduous task of getting their homes and lives rebuilt. If your house burns down you can count on at least a year before you are back in your place and for…
Free app aims to help you prepare for a major disaster
Free app aims to help you prepare for a major disaster

During disasters we are often reminded of the things we should do to prepare just in case. One of the most important things anyone of us can do is to make a list of everything we own and there are many apps out there that…
Homeowners in high fire-risk areas are upset over soaring insurance rates
Homeowners in high fire-risk areas are upset over soaring insurance rates

Soaring insurance rates may accomplish what the Telegraph fire failed to do: drive the Stoffan family from their home of 10 years. The Stoffans’ Northern California house survived the 2008 blaze, which destroyed 30 homes and 100 other structures as it charred 53 square miles…
3rd Circ. Set To Decide If Asbestos Exclusion Is Enforceable
3rd Circ. Set To Decide If Asbestos Exclusion Is Enforceable

The Third Circuit is set to hear oral arguments Friday on whether a common exclusion for asbestos-related claims in a Travelers insurance policy is ambiguous and therefore unenforceable in a case that could have a broad impact on insurers’ liabilities for litigation over the toxic…
Price Optimization: Pennsylvania is the Latest State to Prohibit the Practice While the NAIC Works Towards a Final White Paper
Price Optimization: Pennsylvania is the Latest State to Prohibit the Practice While the NAIC Works Towards a Final White Paper

Published August 27, 2015, by Susan Stryker “Price optimization,” a long-established economic concept, generally refers to the application of mathematical techniques using data to address pricing at a more granular level. Price optimization in property and casualty insurance ratemaking, or what has been referred to…
More than 50 Consumer, Civil Rights, Community Groups Call On Federal Insurance Office to Review Affordability of Auto Insurance in Low-Wealth Communities and Communities of Color
More than 50 Consumer, Civil Rights, Community Groups Call On Federal Insurance Office to Review Affordability of Auto Insurance in Low-Wealth Communities and Communities of Color

Groups Say Basic Auto Insurance Should Not Cost More Than Two Percent of Income for Low- and Moderate-Income Americans. The Federal Insurance Office FIO) must establish a strong affordability standard for low- and moderate-income Americans, according to nearly 50 organizations from 23 states and DC…
Give it back? Homeowners who got Hurricane Sandy repair funds may have to repay ‘Build It Back’ money
Give it back? Homeowners who got Hurricane Sandy repair funds may have to repay ‘Build It Back’ money

Sandy-ravaged homeowners who got “Build It Back” funds for repairs might have to repay the money because of Draconian HUD rules — even though federal bungling is what drove many to the program in the first place. As many as 3,000 homeowners — one-third of…
Low credit scores raise home insurance rates
Low credit scores raise home insurance rates

If you fall behind on your credit card bills, should your punishment include a homeowners insurance bill up 43 percent? Yes, and it’s perfectly justified, says the insurance industry. Unfair, say consumer advocates. The insurance industry has long used credit scores as a factor in…
How much credit affects your home insurance rate may surprise you
How much credit affects your home insurance rate may surprise you

Credit is playing an increasingly important economic role in Americans’ lives these days, and according to a recent study, your credit history can be a major factor in what you pay for home insurance. For the second year in a row, a Quadrant Information Services…
Statement of California Health Advocates and United Policyholders
Statement of California Health Advocates and United Policyholders

Public Hearing: Minnesota Department of Commerce – Long-Term Care – Rate Increases and Policyholder Protections In late August, 2015, the Minnesota Department of Commerce convened a hearing to assist the Department’s fact-finding effort on long-term care insurance industry issues. The hearing provided consumers, insurance companies, and other…