Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rotting Wood Product in Post-Katrina Built Homes May Spark Legal Action
Jan 7 2014 // Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, which has built 100 energy-efficient new homes in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, is considering legal action against the manufacturer of an...
North Carolina Rate Bureau Stands By 25.3% Home Insurance Bid
Jan 7 2014 // Despite urging by the state’s insurance commissioner that they withdraw their bid, North Carolina homeowners insurers are unlikely to withdraw their request for a 25.3 percent average rate hike. The data supports the...
Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Plan to Raise Home Insurance Rates in Texas
Jan 5 2014 // Texas’ three largest home insurers are kicking off 2014 with steep increases in policyholder premiums, according to a report published on Jan. 4. The Dallas Morning News reports that Allstate, Farmers and State Farm...
North Carolina Regulator ‘Appalled’ at Home Insurers’ Request for 25% Rate Hike
Jan 5 2014 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has called upon insurers in his state to withdraw a request for a 25.3 percent rate hike for homeowners insurance, saying he is “appalled” they would seek a...
Northeast Digs Out From Major Winter Storm
Jan 3 2014 // The massive winter storm that impacted the Midwest and Northeast over the past couple of days is moving into the Atlantic on Friday, while very cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills are moving in behind the system,...
N.J. Sen. Menendez Calls on Congress to Delay Flood Insurance Rate Hikes
Jan 3 2014 // U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Thursday joined residents and local officials in Brick, N.J., to call on Congress to pass the Homeowner’s Flood Insurance Affordability Act. The bipartisan, bicameral bill,...
Flood Maps Still Wrong, Oregon Homeowners Still Paying
Jan 2 2014 // Months after Carol Justice was wrongly told her home needs flood insurance, the Cornelius resident is still paying up – even though a surveyor has since determined her house is not in the flood zone. Justice is one of...
New Hampshire Law Limits Homeowner Liability in Fire Calls
Dec 31 2013 // A union representing New Hampshire firefighters hopes a new state law will encourage homeowners to call for help if needed during an emergency. A law that takes effect Jan. 1 would limit the liability a homeowner would...
Oklahoma Homes Earthquake Shaken On Christmas
Dec 27 2013 // It wasn’t Santa and his reindeer landing on roofs that shook some central Oklahoma homes early Christmas morning. A small earthquake struck near Spencer at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geology...
In N.Y., N.J., Disparities Emerge in How Quickly Sandy Victims Get Federal Aid
Dec 27 2013 // As a second New Year since Superstorm Sandy approaches, many coastal residents are still waiting for New York, New Jersey and New York City to distribute billions of federal dollars that were intended to go directly to...
Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Challenges FEMA’s New Flood Maps
Dec 20 2013 // Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, led by Congressman Bill Keating, recently sent an open letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The lawmakers argued in their letter that when FEMA...
Report Casts Light on High Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Florida
Dec 19 2013 // Floridians are paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation even though the state has not been hit by a hurricane in nearly a decade. A national report shows the average premium for most Florida homeowners is...
Florida Lawmakers Unveil Plan to Encourage Private Market for Flood Insurance
Dec 19 2013 // With the chances of a federal solution to rising flood insurance rates waning by the day, Florida lawmakers are pressing forward with a bill to create a private market solution to the problem. Florida State Senator Jeff...
Texas No Longer No. 1 in High Home Insurance Rates
Dec 18 2013 // An industry group says Texas homeowners no longer are paying the highest insurance rates in the country, a distinction that now goes to Florida residents. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released...
FEMA Grants Helping to Raise Flood-Prone R.I. Homes
Dec 17 2013 // The owners of eight flood-prone properties near Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, R.I., are using federal grant funds to raise their homes and businesses high enough to minimize any future damage. The Westerly Sun...
A.M. Best Special Report: Homeowners Profitability Is an Ongoing Challenge
Dec 16 2013 // Despite the various strategies employed by companies that write the business, homeowners insurance historically has produced volatile underwriting performance, according to A.M. Best. And while strategies to make...
N.J. Bill Requiring New Homes Be Equipped With Fire Suppression Systems Advances
Dec 13 2013 // In New Jersey, legislation sponsored by state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden/Gloucester) that would increase public safety by requiring that certain new homes are equipped with a fire suppression system was approved...
Plymouth Rock, Bunker Hill Offer Combined Home, Auto Coverage to Massachusetts AARP Members
Dec 13 2013 // The senior citizen organization American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has chosen Boston-based Plymouth Rock Assurance and its affiliated Bunker Hill Insurance to issue auto and home insurance products for AARP...
North-Central Penn. Officials: Higher Flood Insurance Rates Will Bankrupt Homeowners
Dec 13 2013 // Residents and officials in flood-prone north-central Pennsylvania are warning that a new federal law ending subsidized federal flood insurance rates in certain areas will bankrupt homeowners, drive down property values and...
Louisiana Citizens Insurance Depopulation Highest in Five Years
Dec 12 2013 // The total policy count for Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) is dropping below 95,000 personal and commercial policies following the latest round of the Citizens depopulation program, the Louisiana...
