Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: Hurricanes Pose Risk to 1.8M Costal Homes
May 16 2011 // More than 1.8 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at great risk of being damaged by a hurricane, three times the number located in federally defined flood zones, according to a report released Tuesday. The...
Wiring in Faulty Drywall Homes Found to Be Safe
May 16 2011 // Federal safety officials have stopped recommending removal of all electrical wiring in homes with problem drywall, a change in the safety protocol that could reduce the cost of remediation. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety...
Declarations
May 16 2011 // Banning ‘Storm Vultures’ Senate Bill 101 “will ensure that homeowners and others who have suffered damage to their property are not then battered by the unscrupulous acts of ‘storm...
Court Decision Moves Louisiana Closer to Recouping ‘Road Home’ Money
May 15 2011 // Louisiana may be able to recoup much of the money it handed out following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 to help storm victims repair their homes, following a recent ruling by the state’s high court. Under a...
American Family Mutual Insurance to Pay $1M to Arizona Homeowners
May 12 2011 // The Arizona Department of Insurance announced that American Family Mutual Insurance Co. will be paying approximately $1.1 million to more than 5,000 homeowner claimants. In the course of investigating a complaint, the ADOI...
Missouri Approves Bill to Protect Consumers from ‘Storm Chasers’
May 5 2011 // Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that proponents say will help protect homeowners from unscrupulous contractors. Senate Bill 101 bars contractors who fix roofs or do other exterior repairs from...
Nearly 7,000 Insurance Claims Filed After St. Louis Tornado
May 2 2011 // Missouri insurance regulators say major homeowners and auto insurance companies in the state have received nearly 7,000 claims from St. Louis residents with damage from the April 22 (Good Friday) tornado. The companies...
Prosecutors: Claims Rep Steals $45K from Insurance Settlement
May 2 2011 // A claims rep for Nationwide in New York has been arrested for stealing $44,900 that should have been paid to a policyholder whose home burned down. State police arrested Scott E. Wood, of Liverpool, in April. Fraud...
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System
May 2 2011 // Michael Korn, managing principal at Integro Insurance Brokers, is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering he is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco. “We’re...
Illinois Insurance Dept. Issues Warning on Adjusters; Urges Flood Coverage
Apr 28 2011 // The Illinois Department of Insurance is warning homeowners about unsolicited offers of help from insurance adjusters after recent storms in southern Illinois. The agency says these unaffiliated adjusters claim they can get...
CEO of Florida’s Homeowners Choice Resigns for Personal Reasons
Apr 25 2011 // Homeowners Choice Inc., a Clearwater, Florida-based provider of homeowners’ insurance, reported that Francis X. McCahill III has resigned from his position of president and chief executive officer and director of the...
Sequioa to Offer Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance in California
Apr 22 2011 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has approved a filing by Sequoia Insurance Co. to offer Pay-as-You-Drive auto insurance coverage. The Monterey, Calif.-based firm joins Automobile Club of Southern California...
Midwest Tornadoes, High Winds Damage Homes, Businesses
Apr 22 2011 // The National Weather Service says at least five tornadoes were part of the storms that battered Ohio early on April 20. Hours before, a tornado measured as an EF3 hit near Girard, Ill., about 20 miles south of Springfield...
Claims Rep Steals $45K from Insurance Settlement
Apr 22 2011 // A claims rep for Nationwide in New York has been arrested for stealing $44,900 that should have been paid to a policyholder whose home burned down. State police arrested Scott E. Wood, of Liverpool, earlier this...
FEMA Approves $22 Million for Mississippi Homeowners’ Storm Mitigation
Apr 21 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved a $22 million grant program to strengthen homes on the Mississippi Coast against destructive winds, according to U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker. Homeowners...
North Carolina Offers Mediation for Storm Claims
Apr 21 2011 // Homeowners in North Carolina whose property suffered recent storm damage but had their claims denied by their insurance company may eligible for a mediation program. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the...
Ohio Non-Insured Property Exclusion Case Sent Back to Lower Court
Apr 20 2011 // The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that a trial court must reconsider arguments in a lawsuit over an exclusion in a homeowners’ insurance policy that bars coverage for claims “arising out of” premises...
Missouri Insurance Dept. Returns More than $2M to Consumers in Q1 2011
Apr 19 2011 // The Missouri Department of Insurance reported it has helped consumers to retrieve $2.4 million from their insurance companies so far in 2011. The insurers returned the money to consumers after the department mediated...
Austin, Texas, Fire Contained; 18 Homes Damaged
Apr 19 2011 // A wildfire in Austin, Texas, believed to have been sparked by a homeless man’s campfire, has burned 100 acres and damaged at least 18 homes. Austin Fire Department spokesman Chayer Smith said he expected the damage...
Florida Approves 18.8% State Farm Rate Increase
Apr 12 2011 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has approved a statewide average 18.8 percent rate increase in State Farm’s homeowners’ policies, which is roughly 10 percent below the 27.9 percent it initially...
