home insurance

16 Stories

In Constantly Flooding Town, 'We Won't Rebuild, It's Not Worth It'

Locals in Florida's Shore Acres, in Tampa Bay area, are spooked by storms, high home insurance rates

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of properties in the Tampa Bay region were damaged or completely destroyed as Hurricane Helene tore through Florida's Gulf Coast, where some homes ended up submerged in several feet of water, reports WUSF . "It's overwhelming and it's devastating," Marie Rowley, who lives...

Customers Won't Like Texas Insurance Firm's News

Hurricane Beryl really did a number on the Lone Star State

(Newser) - Residents of Texas weren't the only ones hit hard in the state by Hurricane Beryl . The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, or TWIA—which Chron describes as "an insurer of last resort for many Texans, giving policies only for wind and hail damage to customers who have been denied...

Number of Homeowners Without Insurance Is Rising

One estimate says the figure is 12%, more than double the rate in 2019

(Newser) - Millions of Americans find themselves in a once-unthinkable position: They're homeowners without home insurance. A look at the numbers and the factors at play:
  • On the rise: In 2022, 12% of homeowners had no insurance, up from 5% in 2019, reports the Washington Post , citing stats from the industry
...

Insurers Have Aerial Intel on 99% of US Homes

More homeowners are being dropped based on drone photography

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal dives into the sticky topic of home insurance companies utilizing fly-by footage from drones, planes, and high-altitude balloons to assess properties. They report that the industry-funded Geospatial Insurance Consortium has aerial footage of 99% of properties in the US, and insurers are using it to make...

These States Have the Most Expensive Home Insurance

Florida comes in at No. 1 on Insurify's list, with an average annual cost of close to $11K

(Newser) - The average annual rate for home insurance comes in at just under $2,400, but in many parts of the country, what homeowners are paying exceeds that figure by far. Insurify lays out the damage, citing rates that rose an average of 20% over the past two years across America....

State Farm Won't Renew 72K Home Policies in California

The move comes 9 months after the company announced it wouldn't offer new policies there

(Newser) - State Farm will discontinue coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments in California starting this summer, the insurance giant said this week, nine months after announcing it would not issue new home policies in the state. The Illinois-based company, California's largest insurer, cited soaring costs, the increasing risk of...

Town Decimated by Fire Has New Obstacle to Rebuild

Homeowners in California town of Paradise find home insurance premiums have skyrocketed

(Newser) - The soaring cost of home insurance has consumed the California town of Paradise, residents and officials say, just after the five-year anniversary of the Nov. 8, 2018, Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. Residents have received annual premiums that are near or exceed $10,000—leaving many to...

With Home Insurance Skyrocketing, Some Floridians Are 'Going Bare'

Many who own their homes outright are choosing to drop hurricane insurance

(Newser) - With home insurance rates skyrocketing, some homeowners in Florida are choosing to "go bare"—go without home insurance, particularly expensive hurricane insurance, despite the risk of losing everything. Those with mortgages are required to have insurance, but many people in communities like West Palm Beach who have paid...

California Is Making a Change to Stop Fleeing Insurers

Rates likely to spike as insurers incorporate catastrophe models in policy pricing

(Newser) - Insurance providers are applauding proposed changes likely to result in rate increases in one of the world's largest insurance markets to better account for billions of dollars in potential damage from natural disasters amid a changing climate. Through executive orders approving "emergency regulatory action," California moved Thursday...

Yet Another Insurer Ditches the Sunshine State

Farmers is dropping home, auto, and umbrella policies in Florida, citing 'risk exposure'

(Newser) - More homeowners in Florida received some bad news this week, with yet another insurance company pulling out of the state due to too much possible liability. The Miami Herald reports that Farmers Insurance will no longer be offering home, auto, or umbrella policies in the Sunshine State, the fourth carrier...

Another Insurer Stops Selling California Homeowner Policies

Allstate has put new policies in the state on pause

(Newser) - Another big insurance company has quietly stopped selling home insurance in California. Allstate, which in 2021 was the fourth-largest property and casualty insurance provider in the state, is no longer writing new homeowner, condo, or commercial insurance policies there, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The company says the pause on...

Jury Awards Shannen Doherty $6.3M to Rebuild Her House

Actress had sued insurance company over settlement after wildfire

(Newser) - Update: A Los Angeles jury has agreed that Shannen Doherty is owed more money by her insurer after her house was hit by a wildfire—to the tune of $6.3 million. The actress had sued, arguing that the house was so damaged that it needed to be rebuilt, while...

There's Another Disaster Looming for Harvey Victims
There's Another Disaster
Looming for Harvey Victims
The rundown
Aug 30, 2017 1:08 PM CDT

There's Another Disaster Looming for Harvey Victims

Only 2 in 10 in the worst areas have flood insurance

(Newser) - The math isn't pretty: An official in Harris County, Texas, estimated Wednesday that Harvey has destroyed up to 40,000 homes in the Houston area, reports ABC News . Countless others have lesser damage. Now balance those figures with another: Only 2 in 10 homeowners in the hardest-hit areas have...

Feds Look to Deep-Six 'Forced' Home Insurance

Banks benefit from practice that has gouged millions

(Newser) - Since 2009, some six million "force-placed" home insurance policies have been written—expensive policies that hit homeowners if their original plans fall through, for instance, because they've fallen behind on payments. But these "forced" policies can cost up to 10 times as much as the original plans,...

State Farm Cancels Policies on Florida Coast

125K are losing coverage in middle of hurricane season

(Newser) - State Farm, Florida’s top home insurer, is ditching 125,000 of its coastal customers this year—right in the middle of hurricane season. The cancellation notices will start flowing this week, informing residents that they’ll be unprotected starting Aug. 1, NBC News reports. State Farm says it’s...

Denied Rate Hike, State Farm to Axe Fla. Home Insurance

Company holds 1.2M policies in state hit hard, and often, by nature

(Newser) - Citing a “weakened financial position,” State Farm’s Florida operation is planning to completely exit the home insurance business there within 2 years, the Miami Herald reports. Such a move would need regulatory approval, and require a 180-day heads-up to affected homeowners. The move comes after the insurer,...

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