Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A Living, Lurking Threat in Sandy-Hit Homes: Mold
Feb 5 2013 // Esther Tauscher stood outside her Staten Island, N.Y., home, leafing through boxes of family photos that had been steeped in storm water. She paused to point out life events — her honeymoon, holding her baby boy in a...
N.Y. Gov. Proposes to Spend Up to $400M to Buy Out Storm-Wrecked Homes
Feb 5 2013 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to spend up to $400 million to buy and demolish homes wrecked by Superstorm Sandy and permanently preserve the land as undeveloped coastline.New York Gov. Andrew CuomoA Cuomo administration...
California Department of Insurance: $20M Rate Reduction for Homeowners
Jan 31 2013 // Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday announced today a 35 percent rate reduction for lender-placed homeowner’s insurance coverage offered by QBE Insurance Corp. The rate reduction will result in an estimated...
Nebraska Bicyclist Sues Homeowners over Crash on Trail
Jan 30 2013 // The past and current owners of a south Lincoln, Neb., home are being sued by a man who was hurt when he crashed his bike on a trail near the house in 2011. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Christopher Hepburn of...
State Farm Homeownes Rate Increase Denied in Louisiana
Jan 28 2013 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has declined to approve a recent homeowners rate request filed by State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. (State Farm). State Farm submitted the request for the +16.6 percent rate...
After the Storm: Agents’ E&O Lessons Learned
Jan 28 2013 // More often than not, a second wave of claims against insurance agents by their clients follows a natural disaster. For the most part, the types of allegations and claims that surface after a catastrophe are the same as...
Lawmakers Introduce Bills to Address Post-Sandy Concerns
Jan 28 2013 // Legislators in New York and New Jersey have introduced a number of new bills to address some homeowners insurance- related complaints they have been receiving in the wake of Sandy. On Jan. 9, New York legislators have...
Sandy Blow to N.J.: Costly Work or Costlier Flood Insurance Premiums
Jan 25 2013 // Superstorm Sandy landed one final stunning blow to New Jersey on Thursday, Jan. 24, as the state adopted rebuilding guidelines that come with sticker shock. They will force homeowners in flood zones to spend tens of...
Louisiana Commissioner Says ‘No’ to State Farm Regional Deductible Plan
Jan 25 2013 // Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon has denied a request by State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (State Farm) to introduce a regional deductible plan for its Louisiana homeowner’s program. Donelon said the...
Florida Regulator McCarty Offers Reform Map to Smaller Citizens Property Insurance
Jan 25 2013 // Florida’s insurance commissioner has proposed a set of reforms designed to return the state-back property insurer to being a residual market, while at the same time offering the private insurance market incentives to...
Insurer Using Imaging Technology to Spot Home Hazards Before They Cause Damage
Jan 24 2013 // A new imaging technology being deployed by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. can help reduce the risk of catastrophic damage, injury and loss of life due to fire. It can also spot potential water damage to homes and...
After Sandy, N.Y. Assembly Advances ‘Homeowners Bill of Rights’ Legislation
Jan 17 2013 // A leading New York lawmaker introduced two pieces of legislation this month to help homeowners better understand their insurance coverages and to tighten the timeframe requirements for insurers when responding to claims...
Auto, Homeowner Complaints Dropping in Texas
Jan 17 2013 // Texas drivers are filing fewer and fewer complaints against insurance companies these days, an insurance trade group reported. Last year represents the lowest number of justified or confirmed auto insurance complaints...
N.J. Bill Would Require Homeowners Insurers to Provide Policy Summary
Jan 17 2013 // The New Jersey Assembly’s financial institutions and insurance committee gave approval Monday, Jan. 14, to a recently introduced bill that seeks to make it easier for homeowners to understand what their policy covers...
Hanover Insurance Advises Homeowners to Watch Out for Ice Dams
Jan 15 2013 // As low temperatures sweep across the Northeast, ice dams increasingly are becoming a hazard for home and business owners alike. And with winter weather continuing, The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. in Worcester, Mass. is...
Tennessee Commissioner McPeak Urges Fire Safety in Manufactured Homes
Jan 14 2013 // Tennessee officials are urging residents of manufactured homes – also known as mobile homes or trailers – to practice fire safety. More than 250,000 of these homes exist in Tennessee, according to Tennessee State Fire...
N.Y. Banks to Expedite Endorsing Claim Checks
Jan 14 2013 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last month that major banks and mortgage servicers have been instructed to take action to expedite insurance payments to New York homeowners in the wake of Sandy. Currently, insurance...
After the Storm: Insurance Agents E&O Lessons Learned
Jan 8 2013 // More often than not, a second wave of claims against insurance agents by their clients follows a natural disaster. As parties find themselves without the coverage they expected after a catastrophe, it appears to be a...
New Mexico Proposal: Breathalyzers In Drunk Drivers’ Homes
Jan 4 2013 // Advocates of ignition interlock devices to combat drunken driving want to expand the requirement so that convicted offenders have to install devices in their home to detect whether they’re using alcohol. The proposed...
Even Without Big Storms, Florida Property Insurance Costs Rise
Jan 3 2013 // Marco Tarafa was stunned to find that his homeowners’ policy is increasing by nearly $1,000 a year —all because inspectors couldn’t get into his attic, where there was no crawl space and about 24 inches of...
