A dark cloud over the Sunshine State
A dark cloud over the Sunshine State

UP weighed in today with a letter to Florida state lawmakers to urge their no votes on three bills that will gut policyholder protections in that state if enacted as written.  House Bill 301, Senate Bill 714,  House Bill 751. Honorable Florida lawmakers: Our non-profit…
Sonoma County Flood Damage Estimated At $155M
Sonoma County Flood Damage Estimated At $155M

The county and at least two cities have declared local emergencies. A Local Assistance Center is now open in Guerneville. SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Days of heavy rains and flooding along the Russian River have caused an estimated $155 million in damage across Sonoma County,…
Latest North Bay disaster underscores growing need for flood insurance
Latest North Bay disaster underscores growing need for flood insurance

After reeling from property damage caused by recent wildfires, North Bay residents now are confronting another natural disaster in flooding — a threat that is not covered by property insurance and which could escalate as storms become more volatile in a changing climate. Unlike fire-related…
Support Center For Residents Impacted By Storms
Support Center For Residents Impacted By Storms

A local assistance center will open Sunday in Guerneville to provide services to Sonoma County residents affected by recent storms and flooding. Government agencies and nonprofits will be represented at the center, and all county residents can access services regardless of immigration status, according to…
Your assets – Your flood risk?
Your assets – Your flood risk?

After insurers began excluding coverage for flood damage in the 1960’s, most people’s homes became unprotected for that risk. The federal government and the lending and insurance industries created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a requirement that homes with mortgages in high flood…
Groups Petition CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara To Ban Use of Occupation and Education to Price Auto Insurance
Groups Petition CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara To Ban Use of Occupation and Education to Price Auto Insurance

Community organizations representing consumers, low-income workers and communities of color petitioned Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today to ban the use of occupation and education to set auto insurance premiums. Many California auto insurance companies charge lower-income and less-educated drivers up to 15% more in order…
Their Home Survived The Camp Fire — But Their Insurance Did Not
Their Home Survived The Camp Fire — But Their Insurance Did Not

Tom and Tamara Conry were dead set on returning to Paradise after the deadly Camp Fire destroyed the town last November. The couple’s home was barely touched by the fire, and most other survivors had a much steeper climb to recovery. But when their property…
Gender can no longer be used to calculate auto insurance rates in California and other states
Gender can no longer be used to calculate auto insurance rates in California and other states

As rates go higher, insurers have other ways to calculate risk, including the monitoring of driving behavior. California has become the seventh state to ban auto insurers from using gender as a factor for calculating the rates customers pay. But as regulators push the industry…
Regulating financial practices is critical to a healthy economy
Regulating financial practices is critical to a healthy economy

Some leaders in the financial services community work hard to weaken consumer protection regulations and the agencies that enforce them.  But it clear from recent history (2008) that the American economy works much better when financial consumer protections are in place and being enforced. UP…
San Diego condo owner says insurance rate increased by 45%, blamed on the deadly Camp Fire
San Diego condo owner says insurance rate increased by 45%, blamed on the deadly Camp Fire

A San Diego condo owner says his insurance rate increased by a whopping 45 percent. He says his insurance agent blamed it on the deadly Camp Fire, 600 miles away. “I was just kind of dumbfounded,” says condo owner Neal Dunn. That was his reaction…
United Policyholders on KCBS-AM
United Policyholders on KCBS-AM

Listen to the radio clip Transcript …on that front trying to get various insurance company to do the right thing we’ve been dragging into mediation and you know ready to go House in one case according to the consumer advocacy group United Policy holders two…
A coverage win for energy sector policyholders
A coverage win for energy sector policyholders

In a significant win for all policyholders in the energy sector, the Supreme Court of Texas reversed a lower appellate court ruling which allowed a consortium of Lloyd’s underwriters to limit their indemnity obligations to pay for defense expenses incurred by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and…
This Paradise Couple’s Home Survived — But Their Insurer Dropped Them, Anyway
This Paradise Couple’s Home Survived — But Their Insurer Dropped Them, Anyway

Not all homes in Paradise were destroyed by November’s deadly Camp Fire. Approximately 10 percent of buildings in the town of Paradise are still standing, according to a rough estimate from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But families who still have their…
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…