Latest Homeowners Headlines

All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.

PG&E Cuts Power to 50K California Homes And Businesses During Wildfire Risk

Nov 21 2019 // About 50,000 homes and businesses across Northern California were without power on Wednesday during the latest planned outage instituted by utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to guard against risk of wildfire during...

California Commissioner Issues Emergency Notice to Expedite Wildfire Claims

Nov 20 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued an emergency notice to all property/casualty insurers doing business in California requesting they expedite claims handling for wildfire survivors to help...

California’s Fair Plan Balks at State’s ‘Misguided’ Order to Expand Coverage

Nov 18 2019 // The insurers behind California’s Fair Plan, the insurance market of last resort for homeowners, think it’s a bad idea to broaden the coverages available from the Fair Plan beyond basic dwelling fire insurance,...

‘Water Line’ Insurance Offer Not Affiliated with City, Madison, Wisconsin Says

Nov 18 2019 // The City of Madison, Wisconsin, has issued a warning to water utility customers regarding letters that are being sent to homeowners by a company claiming to offer insurance coverage for water lines to the home.Madison...

Conn. Supreme Court Finds Insurers Not Liable for Crumbling Foundations

Nov 15 2019 // Insurers are not liable for crumbling foundations caused by defective concrete unless the home is on the verge of collapse, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled. The decision will likely amplify public pressure for a...

California Commissioner Orders FAIR Plan to Increase Homeowners Coverage Options

Nov 14 2019 // California’s property insurer of last resort will soon be offering more homeowners coverage options as directed by the state’s insurance commissioner in response to the pressure put on the property insurance...

Australia Wildfires Continue to Rage, Destroying Homes, Forcing Evacuations

Nov 14 2019 // Scores of wildfires continued to rage across vast tracts of Australia’s drought-stricken east coast on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes, some for the second time in a week.The most...

Kentucky Man Accused of Burglarizing 17 Homes for Scrap Metal

Nov 14 2019 // Police in Kentucky say they’ve arrested a prolific thief, a man who they say broke into 17 homes within a few miles (kilometers) of each other. They say he wasn’t going for high-end appliances, cash or jewelry:...

PURE Programs Launches California High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Program

Nov 13 2019 // PURE Programs has launched a new High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Insurance program, with coverages for retail insurance brokers serving clients that own high value homes in California at greater-risk of loss from...

FEMA Postpones Switch to New Risk-Based Flood Insurance Rating Until 2021

Nov 8 2019 // The federal government is delaying implementation of a major change to its pricing formula for federal flood insurance that bases rates on a more accurate assessment of the real flood threat for each home and reflects the...

Madison, Wisconsin: ‘Water Line’ Insurance Offer Not Affiliated with City

Nov 5 2019 // The City of Madison, Wisconsin, has issued a warning to water utility customers concerning letters being sent to homeowners by a company claiming to offer insurance coverage for water lines to the home.Madison Water...

Resolving Claim Disputes: Step 3 Research and Document the Interpretation – Part 3 of 3

Nov 4 2019 // In the past two columns, we examined eight legal and contractual principles nonlawyers can use to resolve most claim disputes without litigation. In this month’s column, we’ll wrap up this discussion with nine...

Washington Insurance Commissioner Issued Numerous Fines, Disciplinary Actions

Nov 1 2019 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler took disciplinary action in July, August and September against insurance companies, agents and brokers for violating state insurance regulations.A summary of cases of...

Kincade, Tick and Getty Fires Currently Threaten Nearly 1,000 Homes with a Reconstruction Cost Value of $535M

Oct 31 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.As of October 29, there were at least 18 fires burning in California, ranging in size from a few acres to more than 74,000 acres as in the case of the Kincade Fire in...

Velocity Risk Underwriters Expands Coverage to Coastal Homeowners in New Jersey

Oct 31 2019 // Velocity Risk Underwriters, LLC, has expanded its home insurance products to include coastal homeowners policies in New Jersey. According to Jose de Diego, director of Independent Agencies, New Jersey is the sixth state...

Louisiana Homeowners Insurer, Gulf States, Acquires Coastal American Holdings

Oct 29 2019 // Lafayette, Louisiana-based Gulf States Holdings Inc. has acquired Coastal American Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Coastal American Insurance Co. Coastal American’s home office is located in Gulfport, Miss.Terms of...

Brad Pitt, Others Can Be Sued over New Orleans Homes, Judge Says

Oct 28 2019 // A judge has denied actor Brad Pitt’s request to be taken off a lawsuit that says his Make it Right Foundation built shoddy homes in the New Orleans area that was hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.The Times-Picayune/...

Washington Tornado Uprooted Trees, Sending Them into Homes

Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down near Shelton, Wash.The tornado his on Friday night, with had winds up to 100 mph. The tornado started on land and traveled more than a half mile before moving...

Velocity Risk Underwriters Expands Coverage to Coastal Homeowners in New Jersey

Oct 23 2019 // Velocity Risk Underwriters LLC has expanded its home insurance products and now offers coastal homeowners policies in New Jersey. This makes New Jersey the sixth state where the company offers homeowners insurance to...

Row Home Explosion Sparks Fire That Spreads to Nine Other Homes in Pennsylvania

Oct 22 2019 // Authorities say an early morning house explosion in the eastern Pennsylvania city of Allentown blew off the front of the row home and led to a fire that spread to nine other homes, but no serious injuries were immediately...