Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
La. Lawmakers See Little Hope for Insurance Reform
Dec 8 2006 // Louisiana lawmakers will debate changes to state insurance laws beginning Dec. 8, but several said there’s little chance of passing major initiatives to address the problems homeowners face in finding and affording...
Allstate to Halt New Property Business in Conn., N.J. and Del.
Dec 8 2006 // Allstate Insurance Co., continuing its reappraisal of its hurricane loss exposure along the East Coast, has decided to stop writing new property insurance policies in all areas of Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware. The...
Conn. Coastal Rules Could Make Matters Worse, Warn Insurers
Dec 7 2006 // Insurers aren’t happy with new restrictions on coastal property underwriting being imposed by Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Susan Cogswell in a reversal of her previous policy and they warn that the rules could...
Conn. Clamps Down on Shutters; Seeks Coastal Policy Alternatives
Dec 5 2006 // Home insurers in Connecticut may no longer require permanently installed storm shutters as a condition for writing or renewing policies but must offer consumer choices of loss mitigation controls and deductibles, according...
Florida Program Exceeds Goal of 12,000 Free Home Inspections
Dec 5 2006 // After completing 12,000 free home inspections by the end of the 2006 hurricane season – a goal that was exceeded by nearly 1,000 inspections – the pilot phase of the My Safe Florida Home program ended last...
Fires Driven by Winds Threaten Homes in California
Dec 4 2006 // A trio of fires driven by strong Santa Ana winds broke out Sunday morning, endangering dozens of homes in canyons and on hillsides, authorities said. Fire officials called for voluntary evacuations in Ventura County, where...
Gov.-elect Crist Optimistic Fla. Will Address Insurance Costs
Dec 4 2006 // Florida’s Gov.-elect Charlie Crist expressed confidence Friday that lawmakers would be productive in a special session to address the state’s homeowners insurance problem. He said he favors some of the goals in...
Fla. Approves New 2.5% Surcharge on Citizens Insurance Homeowners
Nov 28 2006 // Florida homeowners will pay a 2.5 percent surcharge on their insurance premium when they renew policies in a plan approved last week by state regulators, a move to help bail out the state-backed insurance company for...
Blanco and Donelon Urge Insurers to Speed La.’s ‘Road Home’
Nov 27 2006 // Amid complaints the Road Home program is moving too slowly, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon asked insurance companies to speed their cooperation with the state’s hurricane...
Mississippi Seeks Public Comment on Homeowner Grant Program
Nov 21 2006 // Mississippi homeowners who did not qualify under the original multibillion-dollar grant program have another opportunity to apply for assistance to repair, rebuild or relocate under a second phase that has opened for...
Burden of proof to determine insurance coverage in ‘slab’ case
Nov 20 2006 // When asked to determine coverage under an insurance policy, courts frequently recite the principle that the insured has the burden of proving coverage under the policy and the insurer has the burden of proving exclusions...
Burden of proof to determine insurance coverage in ‘slab’ case
Nov 19 2006 // When asked to determine coverage under an insurance policy, courts frequently recite the principle that the insured has the burden of proving coverage under the policy and the insurer has the burden of proving exclusions...
Smoke Alarm Donated by Texas Coalition Alerts Disabled Homeowner
Nov 16 2006 // A 62 year old Waco, Texas, resident can thank a donated smoke alarm for possibly saving her life and her home recently. Madeline Goff, who is assisted by a walker, was alerted by smoke alarms that she had a potential fire...
Gov. Blanco Wants Overhaul for Louisiana’s ‘Last Resort’ Insurer
Nov 16 2006 // Louisiana’s Legislature needs to overhaul the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., created by the state as an “insurer of last resort,” because of problems created by last year’s hurricanes,...
La. State Insurance Program to Seek rate Increases
Nov 15 2006 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s insurer of last resort, wants to increase homeowners rates by an average 31.7 percent for its 135,000 policyholders. Citizens, the third-largest insurer in the...
Progress Reported in Handling La.’s Road Home Grants
Nov 13 2006 // The number of rebuilding grants through Louisiana’s Road Home program tripled over the past week and officials say they expect to meet the goal of approving 10,000 grants by the end of November. The increase came as...
Lawmakers say New Orleans insurance analysis reveals racial imbalance
Nov 6 2006 // Outreach measures never reached many minority homeowners, study found Associated Press analysis showing white homeowners in New Orleans were three times as likely as minorities to appeal insurance settlements after...
Homeowners want insurance carriers to offer identity theft coverage
Nov 6 2006 // More than 40 percent of consumers would like their homeowners insurance carrier to offer coverage for identity theft, according to a study released by J.D. Power and Associates. The “2006 Homeowners Insurance...
Hawaii’s earthquake losses, not earthquake policies, on the rise
Nov 6 2006 // Estimated damages from the two earthquakes that struck Hawaii on Oct. 15 have been rising. Yet the recent disaster has not spurred homeowners and businesses to purchase earthquake coverage, according the state’s...
Insurance credit scoring plagued with fundamental problems
Nov 6 2006 // A fundamental problem exists with insurance scoring. The problem is that insurance scores and credit scores reflect correlation, but correlation does not necessarily indicate dependency upon which effective decisions can...
