homeowners News

Homeowners Face Rising Insurance Rates as Climate Change Makes Wildfires, Storms More Common

NEW YORK (AP) — A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report says. …

Lightning to Blame for $952M in Homeowners Claims in 2022

Claims involving lightning in 2022 resulted in homeowners insurance payouts approaching $1 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The total value of claims in 2022 attributable to lightning was $952 million, down from $1.3 billion in 2021, said Triple-I. …

Lumber Mill Linked to Deadly Blaze Settles with Victims

WEED, Calif. (AP) — A lumber company that owns a Northern California wood veneers manufacturing plant linked to a deadly fast-spreading blaze that killed two people and sent thousands fleeing for their lives has reached a settlement agreement with more …

Oregon’s Wildfire Risk Map Emerges as New Climate Flashpoint

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A new map in Oregon that rated the wildfire risk of every tax lot in the state — labeling nearly 80,000 structures as high-risk — generated so much pushback from angry homeowners that officials abruptly retracted …

Fla. 3rd: Policyholder Who Blocked Repairs Can’t Recover Damages from Insurer

Insureds cannot recover damages from the insurance company if they failed to comply with the policy and failed to allow the insurer to make the needed repairs, a Florida appeals court decided Wednesday. Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld …

‘No Contest’ Plea Doesn’t Trigger Criminal Exclusion in Home Policy: Connecticut Court

An insured’s plea of nolo contendere to criminal charges does not trigger a criminal acts exclusion in a homeowners insurance policy governed by state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled. A federal court asked the state’s high court to answer …

2 Louisiana Insurance Companies Fail After Hurricane Ida

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)–Insurance companies operating in Louisiana will be charged at least $100 million to pay the claims of two failed property insurers who went belly up in Hurricane Ida’s aftermath. But the cost of dealing with the insolvent …

La. Lawmakers Outline Insurance Complaints After Hurricane Ida

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Slow responses to damage claims. Constant switch-ups of insurance adjusters assessing the destruction. Low payment offers forcing people unnecessarily into litigation to get a fair deal. Louisiana lawmakers and others said Wednesday that those are …

Universal Drops Conflicts of Interest Complaint About Public Adjusters

The Florida property insurance community was abuzz this week after word got out that a closely watched complaint about some public adjusters’ apparent conflicts of interest had been withdrawn. The head of investigations for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance, one …

New Jersey Weighs Expanding Flood Buyback Program After Ida

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Liz Sawyer called Manville, New Jersey, home for more than two decades when Ida became the latest storm to send flood waters crashing into her house. For her and her family it will — she hopes …