A group of property owners affected by the January wildfires is suing major California insurer carriers, including the state’s largest, State Farm, for allegedly violating California’s antitrust and unfair competition laws. The lawsuits follow others regarding insurers’ handling of the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires, including against Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the […]
Best condo insurance companies of 2025 (CNBC)
Condo insurance is more like renters insurance than a homeowners policy, in that it largely covers your belongings, not the physical structure of your property. (That’s generally covered by a policy taken out by your condo or homeowner’s association (HOA). Also known as an HO-6 policy, condo insurance can also protect you from liability for […]
Hawaii condo insurance relief on horizon
Relief for many Hawaii condominium owners paying sky-high insurance premiums may be available soon under a state program. Administrators of the state’s dormant Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund are preparing to begin offering hurricane insurance policies in June to one or more types of condo association properties. Read the article…………………………….
How Condos Are Insured — and How to Save on Your Policy
Condominiums — more commonly referred to simply as condos — have appeal if you want to enjoy the perks of homeownership without the responsibilities of major maintenance tasks like repairing a roof. However, insuring a condo is unique — and complicated. Before purchasing one of these homes, it’s important to understand how condos are insured […]
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Wildfires? What Do HOAs Cover? (CA)
Wildfires are becoming an increasing concern for homeowners, especially in states like California where dry conditions and strong winds create the perfect storm for fast-spreading fires. If you live in a homeowners association (HOA) community, you may be wondering how much protection your insurance provides and whether your HOA’s insurance> covers wildfire damage. Understanding the […]
Check your insurance coverage (FL)
After a story on an $8k special assessment from an HOA, Steve On Your Side urges you to check your insurance policy. Video news report……………………..
Loss assessment coverage can help protect condo owners from skyrocketing assessments (CO)
News of a more than $8,000 special assessment on one condo owner in a Green Valley Ranch community has prompted many 9NEWS viewers to share similar stories of sudden high bills over the last 24 hours. Steve On Your Side has reported on a growing trend in homeowners association (HOA) insurance, where property owners are […]
Future of condo insurance rates depends on hurricanes (HI)
Condo owners in Hawai?i have been dealing with sky-high insurance bills over the past year. It has led to headaches for condo owners and associations alike. But one local expert said it’s important to know that this is not going to last forever. Read the article…………………………….
Grills Causing Community Associations to Feel the Heat from Insurance Companies (CO)
As many common interest community owners and boards likely know, finding association insurance at a reasonable rate in Colorado is becoming more difficult. One of the reasons for this is that Colorado is the state with the third-highest wildfire risk, with Colorado’s 20 largest recorded wildfires occurring in the last 2 decades. In 8 of […]
Understanding Your Community Association’s Insurance Coverage
Protecting your community’s finances and assets is essential, and just as homeowners insurance protects individual properties, community association insurance protects your community. Various scenarios, from fallen trees on common property to injuries at the pool or damage to entrance monuments, highlight the importance of having the right insurance. Community association insurance ensures that the structures, […]
Q&A: To Insure or Not to Insure?
Q. Given the recent disasters on both the East and West Coasts, from flooding to fires, it seems obvious that property insurance is important. But it’s also getting very expensive. Owners who have mortgages are required by their banks to carry insurance, but if you own your property with no mortgage, is it still required? Read […]
Hawai‘i Condo Owners Could Benefit From State Plan To Prop Up Insurance Market
Four years ago, when Charles Schmidt and his wife retired to Hawai?i, their monthly homeowners association fee at M?kaha Valley Plantation condominium was $550 a month. Since then, the fee has spiked 60% to $880 per month, largely because of rising insurance rates. Read the article…………………………….
Utah homeowners see higher fees and cancelled insurance policies after L.A. fires and other natural disasters
I was as shocked and grieved as anyone when the Maui, Hawaii town of Lahaina was virtually burned off the map in 2023. Up until then, it ranked as one of the top 10 deadliest U.S. wildfires on record since 1871, and considered the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history, with just over 100 confirmed […]
Allstate’s 30% Condo Insurance Hike Sparks Consumer Concern (CA)
California condo owners are bracing themselves as Allstate, one of the state’s major insurance providers, plans to raise its condo insurance rates by an average of 30% starting in April. This significant increase, authorized by the California Department of Insurance, has left many policyholders questioning how the change will affect their wallets—and what it signals […]
Liberty Mutual plans to exit state’s condo, rental insurance markets in 2026 (CA)
The garden in Brian Wallace’s backyard is a little slice of peace within San Francisco’s busy cityscape. He owns a condo in SOMA, a place that’s about as far removed from wildfire danger as one can get. Yet, like so many Californians, Wallace has felt the grips of the insurance crisis. “It cannot get any […]
Exclusive data shows which home insurers have most policies in L.A. fire areas (CA)
Two insurers — State Farm General and the California FAIR Plan — cover more homes in the areas where the Los Angeles fires have burned than any others, according to a Chronicle analysis. They’re also the two insurers experts are most concerned could run out of money after a major fire. Read the article…………………………….
They lost their home insurance policies. Then came the fires (CA)
Last year, Francis Bischetti said he learned that the annual cost of the homeowners policy he buys from Farmers Insurance for his Pacific Palisades home was going to soar from $4,500 to $18,000 — an amount he could not possibly afford. Read the article…………………………….
LA fires just latest disaster prompting home insurers to drop coverage, raise rates
Wildfires leveling parts of Los Angeles. Hurricanes devastating Florida and the Carolinas. Floods around the Passaic River, Meadowlands and Jersey Shore. Nearly half of all homes across the nation — worth almost $22 trillion — face at least one type of severe or extreme climate risk, ranging from flooding to wind, wildfire, heat and air […]
Central Florida homeowners join rising trend, opting out of property insurance
“Right now, 20 percent of homeowners in Florida have opted to self insure and remain uninsured,” said Divya Sangam, an insurance expert and spokeswoman with ValuePenguin, a Lending Tree research site that conducted a data analysis of the Florida insurance crisis. Read the article…………………………….
Frustrated Clear Lake residents discuss skyrocketing homeowners’ insurance rates, demand regulations (TX)
They hope to live there as long as they can but fear they’re being priced out. Brian Smith said their current insurance provider, Texas Fair Plan Association, will drop their coverage in April. Brian and Jenna Smith have lived in their La Porte home for 11 years. Their current insurance provider, Texas Fair Plan Association, […]
Expert says Colorado is on the brink of an insurance crisis similar to California
Anytime, anywhere, wildfire risk is growing in Colorado. Across the state, homeowners are feeling the impact, especially when it comes to insurance. “Being a high-catastrophe state at a time when we’re seeing unprecedented, historic catastrophes is something the insurance industry is unfortunately responding to,” Read the article…………………………….
These California Insurers Cut Policies Before Devastating Wildfires
Several property insurers in California cut coverage or stopped offering new homeowners policies in the past few years, as companies tried to limit losses amid the risk of paying enormous claims due to wildfires. Read the article…………………………….
My mortgage is paid off, can my HOA still make me get homeowners insurance? (FL)
Question: I live in a villa which is attached to another villa, of which there are six on my street. The whole subdivision has attached villas which total about 190. All are single story with a garage. I have lived in the development for over 20 years and own my home free and clear with […]
New regulation increasing California Homeowner’s Wildfire Coverage may be a ‘bad deal’
The State is ready to expand insurance access to Californians in wildfire-prone areas so more homeowners can have coverage. However, Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit that authored Prop 103 and has been holding the insurance industry accountable since the 1980s, called the regulation a ‘bad deal’ because it would eventually make wildfire coverage too expensive for […]
Why is Colorado homeowners insurance going up?
A homeowners insurance crisis fueled by escalating natural disasters has arrived in the Centennial State. Home insurance now costs $818 more per year on average compared to 2020, and Colorado now has the fourth-highest insurance premiums nationwide, according to a July research paper by Benjamin Keys and Philip Mulder. In places like Philips County, home […]
Four ways Florida’s Legislature may try to quell the state’s insurance crisis in 2025
Florida’s new legislative leaders were sworn in last month, and addressing the insurance crisis seems to be at the top of their minds. “I want to make sure that impacted Floridians and insurance companies hear me loudly and clearly — we are watching,” Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, told senators last month. “(Floridians) don’t want […]
Climate change drives up insurance costs — and missed mortgage payments (FL)
When Miguel Zablah bought his five-bedroom home in Miami’s leafy Shenandoah neighborhood in June of 2020, he said he paid $7,000 a year for homeowner’s insurance. The house, built in 1923, sits on high ground and has survived a century of famously volatile South Florida weather. But in just four short years, Zablah said his […]
Coastal Chaos: 5 Ways Miami’s Sinking Condos Reveal Gaps in Your Home Insurance
Miami’s sinking condos have exposed startling vulnerabilities, not just in building infrastructure but also in homeowners’ insurance policies. If you think your home insurance has you covered for every possible disaster, think again. Many policies contain critical gaps that may leave you financially stranded during a crisis. Read the article…………………………….
Wind or water damage? Ian court cases show what policyholders face in challenging insurers (FL)
More than two years after landfall, Hurricane Ian property insurance disputes are now hitting the courts and the first to be heard in the state’s hardest-hit county clashed over a point that could be key in damage disputes from this year’s set of storms. Is the source of drenching damage the result of wind or […]
Some condo insurers are not renewing coverage in Illinois
…..joins the show to discuss condo insurers dropping coverage in Illinois and what the ramifications will be. Watch the video………………………….
California Major Insurer Cuts All Condo and Rental Policies
Safeco, a branch of Liberty Mutual, has notified the California Department of Insurance that it will stop selling condo, rental and watercraft policies as of January 1, 2025. Beginning January 2026, nonrenewal processes will begin for these types of policies, as well as specialty vehicles, motorcycle and some auto products. Read the article…………………………….
California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market
Under new rules intended to stabilize California’s troubled home insurance market, insurers will be able to set rates by drawing on a wide swath of meteorological, geographic and other data in establishing rates, rather than largely relying on historical losses. Read the article…………………………….
Colorado “insurer of last resort” created for homeowners with no other options
Help will soon be available for Colorado homeowners left without options. Wildfires have caused insurance companies to abandon many customers. Now another option, the “insurer of last resort,” is set to launch in 2025. Colorado’s FAIR Plan is a game changer for homeowners like Erik Johnson. For eight years, he and his wife have lived […]
After wildfires, his insurance company dropped his coverage. Why homeowners insurance providers are charging more and covering less (AZ)
The faint stain of pink fire retardant reminds Rio Verde Foothills resident Kevin O’Neil of the close calls his family faced with recent wildfires. “It’s really hard,” O’Neil said. “You’re never prepared for something like that.” Read the article…………………………….
Farmers announces phased reintroduction of several insurance lines (CA)
Farmers Insurance announced a phased reintroduction of several insurance lines for new customers in California, effective December 14, 2024. This expansion follows a temporary pause on coverage for condominiums, renters, umbrella, landlord, vacant, and manufactured homes exceeding a year. Read the article…………………………….
Florida homeowners are self-insuring. Experts say it’s a ‘troubling trend.’
While Florida’s shaky property insurance market is showing signs of stabilizing, home and condo owners across the state are still feeling the pinch from some of the priciest premiums in the nation. More and more property owners in the state are going “bare” and foregoing home insurance altogether, opting to self-insure rather than take out […]
Insurance companies re-examining Iowa coverage while enduring record losses
The state of Iowa is regarded by many as the nation’s insurance capital — or is at least close to it. In fact, in the last 15 years, Iowa has seen its GDP grow by 57 percent just in the insurance and financial services industries. As a measure of percentage contribution to GDP, that growth […]
As destructive wildfires grow, Western states face a home insurance crisis
In the coming years, climate change could force Nevadans from their homes, not just by worsening wildfires and destructive floods — but also by putting insurance coverage out of reach. Nevada’s fire season, once limited to late summer and early fall, now spans nearly the entire calendar. And the soaring home insurance payouts following destructive […]
A Definition of Wildfire (CA)
Most of us have been impacted by the insurance crisis in California, and if we haven’t been impacted yet, we will be. California has billions of dollars of property that needs insurance, and as losses piled up between 2017 and 2022, carriers in CA tightened their underwriting criteria, limited the amount of properties they would […]
Some condo insurers are not renewing coverage in Illinois
Featured on WGN Radio’s Home Sweet Home Chicago on 12/07/24: Real Estate Attorney Dave Schlueter with the Law Offices of Dave Schlueter Ltd. joins the show to discuss condo insurers dropping coverage in Illinois and what the ramifications will be. Listen to the podcast…………………………..
Can your association’s management company require all property owners carry homeowners insurance?
Q: I read your column in our local Florida newspaper. I live in a community with all villas which are attached to one another. I recently got an email from our community’s management company that said homeowners insurance was required on each property. Read the Q&A………………………………..
‘Upwards of 1,000% increases:’ Breckenridge officials discuss extreme spikes in homeowners insurance plus impacts to renters (CO)
Benedict said he heard of homeowner association fees doubling or tripling recently, noting wildfire risk’s impact on insurance is “nearly bankrupting some of the (homeowner associations).” Since insurance is a private industry and fire districts are public agencies, Benedict said there are roadblocks to finding solutions. Read the article…………………………….
Insurance nightmares cost Georgia homeowners thousands of dollars
Burst pipes and trees down on a fence caused thousands of dollars in damage for Georgia homeowners. But when they filed home insurance claims they got stuck with big bills. Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray uncovered the tactics some insurance companies are using to avoid paying claims. Homeowner insurance costs are up 55% since […]
Homeowners Insurance Not Renewed? Premium Skyrocketed? Here’s What to Do Next.
Miraculously, Laura Morris’ house in Greenville, S.C., survived the punishing winds and rain of Hurricane Helene this past September. While her neighbors had trees fall on their homes or in their yards, her home suffered only minor damage. But just a few weeks after the hurricane, the Morris family faced another potential disaster: a notice […]
Parametric Insurance (CA)
By now, if you are a regular reader of Coverage Corner, you are well-versed in how traditional insurance works: the policy is a contract between the insured and the insurer, or an HOA and the insurance carrier. The insured pays money to the carrier (a premium) so that, in the event there is a loss […]
My mortgage is paid off, can my HOA still make me get homeowners insurance? (FL)
Question: I live in a villa which is attached to another villa, of which there are six on my street. The whole subdivision has attached villas which total about 190. All are single story with a garage. I have lived in the development for over 20 years and own my home free and clear with […]
Lien, foreclosure threats add anxiety over insurance-driven condo fees (HI)
Soaring condominium fees due to insurance cost hikes are putting owners at risk of foreclosure, and trapping others in properties they can’t sell, according to residents struggling to keep up. County and state lawmakers, insurance regulators and the governor all acknowledge it’s a huge problem and are working on all sorts of remedies. But people […]
Reporting Insurance Claims After a Florida Hurricane: What Policyholders Need to Know
Welcome back! In my last blog article, I provided an overview of a few of the initial steps in the insurance claim process. The next part of the claims journey is arguably one of the most critical: reporting your loss to the insurance carrier. While this may seem like a simple, straightforward step, a slight […]
The Impact of 2 Storms and Claims Advice From a Second-Generation Insurance Agent
As if it were yesterday, I vividly remember going to my first catastrophic fire loss with my dad at the young age of nine. It was a house fire in Sarasota involving a resident falling asleep with a lit cigarette. The amount of damage that was caused by the fire was permanently implanted in my […]
Hurricane Milton likely to be a first test of insurance reforms and spawn a recurring argument (FL)
With Hurricane Milton’s passage, storm assessments are well underway across Florida. But one likely outcome, insurance industry watchers fear, is that owners of shredded and torn properties are in for a financial soaking. A vulnerability in Florida’s property insurance market — finger-pointing over whether water damage was caused by flood inundation or breaches in the […]