Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Esurance, Security First to Sell Homeowners Insurance in Florida
Jun 28 2011 // Esurance, the online car insurance company, said that it is partnering with Security First Insurance Co. as an underwriter to offer homeowners insurance in Florida. The move comes a little more than a month after Allstate...
Calif. Homeowners Underinsurance Regs Take Effect, Despite Legal Challenges
Jun 28 2011 // A series of new California homeowners regulations aimed at enhancing the standards and training for estimating the replacement value on homeowners’ insurance in the event of a disaster took effect on June 27....
Homeowners, City at Odds Over Flood Buyout Program in Oklahoma
Jun 27 2011 // Owners of homes in a Muskogee, Okla., subdivision want the city to give them fair market compensation for their homes as part of a flood-buyout program. But the city says it doesn’t have the money to match federal...
Oklahoma Wildfire That Destroyed 13 Homes Under Control, Residents Return
Jun 27 2011 // A massive wildfire that destroyed 13 homes the Medicine Park, Okla., area was contained on June 25, allowing residents to return to their homes. Firefighters from a few local agencies remained on the scene to mop up hot...
Flooding Damages Thousands of North Dakota Homes
Jun 27 2011 // The Souris River crested nearly 2 feet lower than expected in Minot, N.D., where city officials hoped to ride out the high water without losing more than the thousands of homes already damaged by flooding. The river had...
New Zealand Offers to Pay 5,000 to Leave Quake-Hit Homes
Jun 24 2011 // New Zealand’s government said that it will offer to pay thousands of homeowners to leave areas of the country’s second-largest city that were hardest hit by recent earthquakes. Christchurch was struck by a...
State Farm Wants 8% Homeowners Rate Increase in Louisiana
Jun 22 2011 // State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., Louisiana’s largest insurer of homes, is asking state insurance regulators for permission to boost premiums by an average 8.5 percent. In a filing released by the state insurance...
Oklahoma City Homeowners Blame City for Flood Damage
Jun 22 2011 // Homeowners in a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood that had severe flooding in June 2010 say the city is to blame for the flooding. The city denies the claim. At least 17 households filed flood damage claims with the...
Crews in Flint Battled 11 Fires at Vacant Homes
Jun 22 2011 // Three firefighters suffered heat exhaustion while battling a string of 11 fires at vacant homes on Flint’s east side on Tuesday that may have been intentionally set, authorities said. The first fire started about...
Tennessee Officials Worried Over Increasing Number of Abandoned Homes
Jun 22 2011 // Officials in Washington County, Tennessee are trying to decide the best way to deal with the growing number of abandoned homes. Of particular concern to officials is that property owners could stop caring for the upkeep of...
Wildfires Burn 3 Dozen Homes Across Texas
Jun 21 2011 // Firefighters in Texas are attempting to contain more wildfires after several blazes broke out across the state and destroyed more than three dozen homes. Hundreds of people were told to evacuate June 19 after fires swept...
Alabama Governor Tackles Tornado Recovery, Home Insurance Options
Jun 20 2011 // Anyone with a suggestion or complaint about Alabama’s recovery from the deadly tornadoes in April should know that the buck stops with the governor. Gov. Robert Bentley said he’s not looking to the Federal...
People
Jun 20 2011 // Austin, Texas-based Texas Medical Liability Trust (TMLT) announced that Charles R. (Chip) Ott Jr. will assume leadership of TMLT as president and CEO in late July. He will replace current President and CEO Bob R. Fields,...
Homeowners Insurance Assessments Haunt Florida’s Citizens, Officials
Jun 17 2011 // Two weeks into a new hurricane season, Florida officials are continuing to express their concerns over possible policyholder assessments by Citizens Property Insurance despite the relative financial strength of the...
Florida Homeowners to Share $55 Million in Chinese Drywall Settlement
Jun 14 2011 // Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share $55 million in a deal that also accuses a global drywall maker of lying about the product’s safety, according to court documents. The...
Fireman’s Fund Offers 10% Discount to Homeowners With Estate Managers
Jun 14 2011 // Novato, Calif.-based Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. announced it is offering a 10 percent discount to homeowners with formally trained estate managers who live onsite to make homes and estates safer and more secure....
North Carolina Delays Rate Hearing on Dwelling Fire, Extended Coverage Policies
Jun 9 2011 // A public rate hearing on a proposed increase in North Carolina’s dwelling fire and extended coverage policies has been delayed until July 25. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the change...
Homeowners Seek $90M for Massachusetts Tornado Damage
Jun 9 2011 // Homeowners in western Massachusetts have filed $90 million in insurance claims for damage caused by deadly tornadoes that ravaged Springfield and several smaller communities last week, state officials said Tuesday. The...
Florida’s HomeWise Insurance Completes Merger with First Home
Jun 8 2011 // HomeWise Insurance Co. and First Home Insurance Co. have completed their previously-announced merger. The two Florida domiciled companies, with $25 million of surplus, are combined under the HomeWise Insurance Co....
Will New Legislation Help Florida’s Property Insurance Market?
Jun 7 2011 // Florida hasn’t been hit by a hurricane since the disastrous years of 2004 and 2005, but the state’s property insurance companies say they are still losing money despite collecting billions in premiums. That has...