Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana’s Homeowners Market Stronger 9 Years after Katrina
Aug 29 2014 // Louisiana’s property insurance market is vastly improved nine years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the state on Aug. 29, 2005, largely due to the implementation of statewide building codes and strategies that...
Blast at BP Refinery in Indiana Sparks Fire, Shakes Homes
Aug 29 2014 // An explosion at a BP oil refinery in Indiana rattled nearby homes and sparked a fire that was later extinguished, but it didn’t cause any major injuries or halt production at the facility, a company official...
Lessons from Napa’s ‘Winequake’
Aug 25 2014 // In the early hours Sunday morning, Northern California shook with the largest earthquake it has experienced since 1989. The South Napa Earthquake, as it is being referred to by the U.S. Geological Survey, was a magnitude...
Eight Homes, 10 Buildings Destroyed by California Wildfire
Aug 21 2014 // A wildfire northeast of Bakersfield, Calif. has destroyed eight homes and 10 other structures, authorities said, but residents of some 200 homes under evacuation orders were allowed to return home Wednesday evening. The...
N.Y. Gov. Issues Consumer Alert on Potential Home Repair Scams
Aug 20 2014 // New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a consumer alert warning homeowners to protect themselves against home repair scams, which may arise in wake of the recent flooding that occurred on Long Island. “Unfortunately,...
Torrential Rains Leave Flooded Homes, Injuries in North Dakota
Aug 20 2014 // Torrential rains led to weekend flooding in parts of North Dakota, inundating or threatening more than a dozen homes in the west and causing at least two injuries in the east. Many areas of the state got several inches of...
Florida Opens, Closes Surplus Lines Opportunities
Aug 20 2014 // The recent legislative session in Tallahassee was relatively quiet, a matter some attribute to this being an election year. But even in quiet years, Florida lawmakers tend to make some noise about the insurance industry...
Earthquake Gap: Insurance Sales Falling As Risk Rises
Aug 19 2014 // While earthquake risks are rising in the U.S., fewer homeowners nationally say they have earthquake insurance, creating a potentially huge gap in coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute. That’s a...
Insureds Rarely Have Home Inventories Despite Benefits, Say Claims Pros
Aug 18 2014 // Despite big storms and wildfires highlighting the need, home inventories are rare, say insurance industry experts. A recent Allstate Insurance survey of Atlanta homeowners found that while than more than 90 percent of...
‘Three-Strikes’ Law Proposed for Nursing Homes in Texas
Aug 18 2014 // Texas nursing homes that thrice commit egregious oversight offenses could be shuttered under a plan proposed by state lawmakers. The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission recommended the crackdown at its recent meeting in...
California Insurance Agent Faces 96 Felony Counts
Aug 15 2014 // Jacob Richard Bonzer, 27, formerly of Lake Forest, Calif. was arrested Wednesday in Chicago by a U.S. Marshals Task Force on 96 felony counts including grand theft, forgery and denial of benefits. According to a joint...
How Much Credit Score Effect on Home Insurance Premiums Varies by State
Aug 14 2014 // Homeowners with poor credit pay 91 percent more for homeowners’ insurance than people with excellent credit, according to a study by an online insurance shopping service. The report by insuranceQuotes.com also found...
Vermont Family in Bed Bug Case Sues Homeowners Insurer
Aug 12 2014 // A Vermont couple who reached a $450,000 settlement with the state after saying their home was made uninhabitable when it was sprayed for bed bugs with a banned pesticide is now suing their insurance company. Neil and...
New Jersey City to Reimburse Homeowner for Sewer Backup Damage
Aug 8 2014 // The City Council of Clifton, New Jersey, has voted to reimburse a homeowner after the city’s sewage test flooded a basement, ruining a joint birthday celebration and flooring that was put down the day...
N.J. Accelerates Disbursement of Federal Sandy Aid for Homeowners
Aug 7 2014 // New Jersey state officials say they have accelerated spending on housing programs from federal aid sent to New Jersey to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy amid improvements to a big program that got off to an uncertain start...
Wildfires Burn Structures, Threaten Homes In California, Oregon, Washington
Aug 5 2014 // Two wildfires that burned or threatened hundreds of homes in Northern California were bearing down on a small town as they plowed through more than 100 square miles of drought-stricken brush, and Tuesday brought a chance...
Improved Fire Rating to Cut Home Insurance Costs in Louisiana Town
Aug 4 2014 // Homeowners in the Grand Chenier area will be paying less for fire insurance starting in August because of a higher rating awarded to the local fire district. The American Press reported the rating for Cameron Parish Fire...
New Force-Placed Insurance Rules Prompt $100 Million Agency Sale
Aug 4 2014 // One of the country’s largest overseers of troubled home loans, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., is quietly trying to sell a $100 million insurance agency that doesn’t appear to exist. Harwood Service Co. has...
ICAT Launches a New California Homeowners Earthquake Product
Aug 4 2014 // BOULDER, CO – (August 4, 2014) – ICAT, a leading provider of property insurance to businesses and residences in hurricane and earthquake exposed regions of the United States, is pleased to announce the launch of its...
Opportunities Abound in High-Value Home, Condo Segment
Aug 4 2014 // The high-value homeowners and luxury condo markets have become competitive arenas to play in, with several new programs and companies in the past few years. But experts say agents and brokers shouldn’t be deterred by...
