Latest Homeowners Headlines

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

2,700 New Jersey Homeowners Getting Money to Raise Houses

Jul 23 2013 // About 2,700 New Jersey homeowners will get federal grants to elevate homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy.Construction workers raise a house in Brick, N.J. on July 22. Under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Elevation...

Florida Agents Challenged to Profit on Homeowners Business: FAIA

Jul 22 2013 // Many Florida independent insurance agencies are challenged to make money on the initial placement of the homeowners insurance policies.That’s a finding from The Agent Compensation Study commissioned by the Florida...

Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes

Jul 22 2013 // Just a year after Congress approved changes in the oft-criticized federal flood insurance program, protests from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays to preserve below-cost rates for...

FEMA Asked to Review Flood Insurance Rules

Jul 22 2013 // U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider reversing denials of Superstorm Sandy flood claims based on the “earth movement” exclusion.Gillibrand said...

Wildfires, Hail Take Toll on Colorado Homeowners Insurance

Jul 22 2013 // It’s safe to say there’s a lot going on in the homeowners insurance scene in Colorado, where homeowners insurance rates are likely to be on the rise for some time.Insured losses from the recent Black Forest...

New York Provides $16M to Some Flooded Upstate Counties

Jul 18 2013 // The state will provide $16 million to homeowners, business operators and farmers in five of the 12 upstate counties that were declared disaster areas after recent severe flooding but denied federal aid, Gov. Andrew Cuomo...

North Carolina Residual Market Issues $500 Million in Cat Bonds; Rate Hikes Go Into Effect

Jul 16 2013 // North Carolina’s two residual homeowners insurance markets have jointly issued $500 million in pre-event catastrophe bonds to ensure they have enough money on hand to quickly pay claims following hurricanes and other...

Sandy-Damaged Homes in New Jersey Starting to Be Leveled

Jul 12 2013 // Along the New Jersey shore this year, the sounds of summer include earth-moving equipment still cleaning up the devastation wrought last year by Superstorm Sandy.Officials say knocking down the homes that are too damaged...

Florida Consumer Advocate to Review Insurers’ Homeowners Claims Handling

Jul 12 2013 // Florida’s insurance consumer advocate is launching a group to look at how insurance companies are handling claims from homeowners.Robin Smith Westcott said she is creating a working group to come up with...

Wildfires, Hail Take Toll on Colorado Homeowners Insurance

Jul 11 2013 // It’s safe to say there’s a lot going on in the homeowners insurance scene in Colorado, where homeowners insurance rates are likely to be on the rise for some time.Insured losses from the recently doused Black...

Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes, Rate Hikes

Jul 8 2013 // Just a year after Congress imposed significant changes in the government’s oft-criticized flood insurance program, howls of protest from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays...

New Jersey Court Rules Against Homeowners in Dune Dispute

Jul 8 2013 // A New Jersey town can present evidence of the benefits of building dunes as storm barriers when homeowners with beachfront properties seek compensation for losing their ocean views, the state’s highest court...

2 New York Utilities Sued for 120 Sandy-Burned Homes

Jul 7 2013 // About 120 home owners from the tight-knit enclave of Breezy Point in Queens, New York, that was devastated by fires during Superstorm Sandy are suing two utility companies for negligence. A lawsuit filed on July 2 in state...

N.Y. Senator Gillibrand to FEMA: Review Flood Insurance Rules

Jul 1 2013 // U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to review rules that resulted in insurance coverage denials for some Superstorm Sandy victims.Gillibrand’s letter last week came...

The Disaster Issue – Where Insurers Fear to Tread

Jul 1 2013 // One storm is all it takes these days.Anyone who’s been paying attention needn’t be reminded that even a post-tropical cyclone can cause major damage. That’s what Sandy was when she came on shore in New...

Flooding Damages Homes in Southwestern Wisconsin

Jun 28 2013 // Several days of heavy rains caused flooding that damaged hundreds of homes in southwestern Wisconsin, and officials in some communities were preparing for more flooding as rivers rose.Storms pounded the southern part of...

Florida’s Citizens Seeks 6.6% Home Rate Hike; Cap on Sinkhole Rates in High-Risk Areas

Jun 27 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer requested a statewide average 6.6 percent increase in homeowners’ rates along with a cap on sinkhole rate increases in three high-risk counties at between 20 percent and...

Insurers Abandon Long Island After Superstorm, N.Y. Senator Schumer Says

Jun 25 2013 // Allstate Corp. is among insurers retreating from the Long Island, New York, homeowners market after superstorm Sandy and should be compelled to offer coverage there, New York Senator Charles Schumer said.Liberty Mutual...

New Jersey Still Looking for Takers for $10K Sandy Grants

Jun 24 2013 // Here’s a problem you don’t hear about that often with a state grant program: New Jersey is giving away $10,000 to 18,000 people, and there are not enough takers.The grant money comes from the Homeowner...

Rate Hikes on Agenda for Florida’s Citizens Insurance

Jun 24 2013 // Florida’s largest property insurer, already under fire for everything from recent business deals to how much it pays its executives, is readying another round of rate hikes for homeowners.The board of Citizens...